


Bridges Cross

by wallashoom



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Aged-Up Character(s), David & Gwen Act as Max's Parental Figures (Camp Camp), David Acting as Max's Parental Figure | Dadvid (Camp Camp), David Adopts Max (Camp Camp), Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Foster Parent David (Camp Camp), Gwen Acting as Max's Parental Figure (Camp Camp), High School, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Max (Camp Camp) Needs a Hug, Max's Parents Are Abusive (Camp Camp), Max's Parents Are Bad Parents (Camp Camp), Neil & Nikki (Camp Camp) Are Siblings, Pining, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, The Author Regrets Everything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 144,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22378147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wallashoom/pseuds/wallashoom
Summary: Neil thought for sure that after his first year at Camp Campbell, everyone would stay in contact. Everyone did keep contact. Everyone except for a certain black-haired boy. Three years after no contact from his best friend, the black-haired boy suddenly shows up in the nerd’s health class on the first day of high school.
Relationships: (mentioned) Billy "Snake" Nikssilp/Tabii, (mentioned) Edward Pikeman/Sasha, Candy/Carl (Camp Camp), David & Max (Camp Camp), David/Gwen (Camp Camp), Dolph Houston & Space Kid, Ered Miller/Nikki, Gwen & Max (Camp Camp), Harrison/Nerris (Camp Camp), Max & Neil & Nikki (Camp Camp), Max & Neil (Camp Camp), Max & Nikki (Camp Camp), Max/Neil (Camp Camp), Neil & Nikki (Camp Camp)
Comments: 146
Kudos: 492





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Characters like Max, Neil, Nikki, Nerris, and Harrison have the last names of their voice actors (I.E. Max Jones, Neil Lowenthal, Nikki Maxwell, Nerris Dunkelman, Harrison Perel).  
> Characters like Ered, Dolph, Space Kid, Nurf, and Preston have the last names they were given in the show.

The sun was blinding, that was for sure. To say Neil was unhappy was an understatement. He was not excited to start high school, no siree, count him out. 

His summer was boring and oh so very slow. This was the first year he had decided not to go to Camp Campbell. Don’t get him wrong, he loved the place. Just… without the chaos, it felt like any normal summer camp.

He stared at his reflection in the bus window, trying his hardest to block out Nikki’s blabbering next to him. She had planned to go every year that she could, and the summer prior was no different. She said she loved it, but even Neil could see the doubt behind her pink orbs.

As the bus was still moving, Neil felt the weight next to him change. He looked up and found that Nikki had moved seats, opting to sit behind Nerris and Harrison. Neil sighed. ‘ _Least they’re happy_.’ He shoved his bookbag next to him, placing his earbuds in his ears and blasting the most emo-est songs he had in his playlist. He didn’t know if it was a blessing or a curse that his house was the furthest away from the school.

Halfway into “ _Monster_ ” by Skillet, Neil felt a hand on his shoulder. Moving his gaze over, he was met with Preston. Turning the volume down and removing an earbud, Neil narrowed his gaze at the theater kid. “What?”

“Oh, so you aren’t deaf!” Preston exclaimed with a fake relief. “I asked what your classes were. Please for the love of god you have one of my classes because I do not want to end up alone in a classroom full of piss poor excuses of people.”

“Well, what do you got?”

“Well, my first block is drama, which I don’t expect anyone to take,” He clasped his hands together. “Second is English, Mr. Haddock, third, Gym or Health with Mr. Luna, and fourth is Math with Mr. Rivas. Do you have third lunch?”

“Okay, first,” Neil pulled the other earbud out. “I have your health class. And second, I do have third.”

“Dang, everyone’s getting the same health class!” Nikki excitedly said. “Wonder if Ered’s got the class, too.”

“Dolph and Space Kid have Mr. Luna third, as well.” Harrison stated. “I don’t know about Nurf or Ered or-” He suddenly stopped, but Neil knew what he was about to say. Everyone knew. “Nevermind.”

“Aw, it’s okay,” Nerris held Harrison’s hand. “Not your fault he decided to ditch us.” Harrison smiled a little. 

“I still wonder what he’s up to.” Preston slunk in the bus seat. “We never even knew his activity.”

“It was probably being emo or some shit.” Nerris snickered.

Neil sighed, putting his earbuds back in and finding himself on a different song. The playlists had swapped too. It took a few seconds, but he realized he was in the playlist that helped him sleep. “ _Lemon Boy_ ” was playing. He closed his eyes, wanting to block out the conversation taking place beside him. ‘ _Quit talking about him_.’ He wanted to scream it. Even though the kid had indeed ditched the whole camp, Neil can’t help but wonder about what _really_ happened. The kid not going to camp seemed to really affect David when Neil’s second year rolled around. Everyone dismissed his disappearance as him being a douche, but Neil couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. He had the feeling since the day he saw the kid leave with his parents in the shiny white limo on the last day of camp with a nervous and maybe even scared smile on his face.

Just as the song came to a close, Neill saw the school come into view. _He was not ready for this at all_. 

* * *

Math went by so _slowly_. He hated the first day of school. You get paper and then you sit there for an hour listening to a teacher talk and talk. The bell felt like a gift from god. 

He was only in his history class for ten minutes and he already knew he’d either love it or hate it. Mrs. Lahav was… an interesting woman. Very expressive. The teacher talked rather quickly, leaving over half an hour left before the bell would ring. Mrs. Lahav had announced that she didn’t care if the students got on their phones, which, of course, almost all the kids got their devices out. Neil reached for his own phone and clicked the screen on to be met with a bunch of messages from a group chat. 

Reading through the texts, he learned that _everybody_ from camp was in the same third block. He joined in the conversation, stating his happiness over having his friends in the same class. 

Ten minutes of class were left and Neil was trying his damn hardest to not burst out in laughter. Nikki had been describing an incident she’d witnessed in her art class where someone “accidentally” pushed another kid into a tower of empty paint buckets and the kid started acting high after inhaling the scent of the paint. Everyone was making jokes about the teacher and some of them were too funny to not laugh at.

**Ikk: See you guys soon!! <3**

Glancing at the time, there was one minute left of class. A smile formed on Neil’s lips as the bell rang. They were starting the year with health and from Neil remembered from middle school, they didn’t do much but talk in health. 

Exiting the classroom, he started in the direction of his health room. ‘ _Of course it’s across the school_.’ He sighed, just about to turn the corner when he heard someone get shoved behind him. All of his instincts told him to just keep walking, but he forced himself to look in the direction of the shove.

There was a tall blond kid looming over a shorter black-haired kid. 

“Watch where you’re fucking going!” The taller kid jabbed his finger into the shorter kid’s chest. 

“I’m not the one who’s cross-eyed.” The shorter kid calmly retorted. 

The taller kid’s eyes narrowed and he raised a fist, then slammed it as hard as he could into the shorter kid’s face. 

The kid didn’t even flinch. 

The tall one stood and walked in the direction opposite of Neil. He wasn’t even sure if the tall guy knew he was there. 

Quietly, Neil approached the shorter kid, who was now on the ground, holding his mouth. 

“Are you okay?” He tentatively asked.

“The fuck it look like?” 

Neil frowned. ‘ _Rude_.’ “Do you need me to get a nurse or…?”

“Nah. I’ve dealt with this shit before. I’m okay.” The short kid tried to stand, but immediately crashed back onto the floor. “Fuck.” He muttered. “Think the guy stepped on my foot. Fat fuck.” The boy chuckled a little.

Neil held his hand out to the kid. “So much for a first day, huh?” 

“Mhm.” The male took Neil’s hand, standing up straight and tapping his left foot on the ground a few times. Neil got a little look at the kid. He was wearing a red hoodie with black ripped jeans and his black hair covered his eyes. The boy wore a black… is that a choker? 

The bell rang.

“Aw shit.” Neil muttered.

“So? First day. Say you were lost.” 

Neil smiled. “I guess I could. Hey, what class do you have next? You don’t seem worried.”

The boy clicked his tongue. “Got a health class with a dumbass guy named Mr. Luna.”

“Really? That’s where I was headed…” He noticed the gold helix piercings the shorter boy had.

“Great. We can be late buddies.” The boy started to walk down the hall.

“Hey,” Neil caught up to him, “Since we’re going to the same place,” He held the kid’s shoulder to keep him in place. The nerd held his hand out in a greeting manner. “I’m Neil.”

The boy didn’t respond right away. He seemed to stare at the kid. “Neil?” He quietly said. “Neil Lowenthal?”

Neil took his hand back. “You know me?”

The boy used his hand to push back the hair in front of his right eye, revealing it to be a brilliant jade. “Dude,” He looked Neil up and down, “it has been way too fucking long!” 

Neil stood in shock. ‘ _It couldn’t be…_ ’ “M-Max?”

He nodded. “How’s camp been? I wanted to go but I couldn’t.” A small smile formed on the black-haired boy.

Neil blinked. “Wait,” _Too many emotions_. “You _wanted_ to go to camp? Why couldn’t you? Why couldn’t you have told us?” 

Max’s face twisted into one of guilt. “I wanted to! I really did. But people are assholes and you can’t get everything you want.” He kicked the ground. 

“Max,” Neil put his hand back on Max’s shoulder, “do you have any idea how much you hurt us when you never responded? When you didn’t go to camp? Nobody knew where you were and we all thought you ditched on us. We thought you had finally changed and we were actually your friends. The others kind of hate you for it. Even Nikki isn’t so fond of you anymore.”

Max shrugged the taller boy’s hand off his shoulder, his hair sliding back in front of his eyes. “Like I said. Shit happened and there was nothing I could fucking do about it.”

Neil sighed. “I hope you know that everybody from camp is in that health class.”

“Great.” Max stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets. He started in the direction of the class. Neil followed.

They were about a quarterway away from the class when Neil cleared his throat. “Knowing you, I thought you’d be trying to skip.” 

“And normally I would,” Max sighed. “But David would be pissed if I skipped his class.”

“Oh… wait, what?” 

Max threw the door open, catching the attention of everyone in the room. “What’s up, fuckers!” He strolled in, Neil following. 

He surveyed his surroundings. Everyone was there… including David. 

“Language!” He scolded as Max walked across the room, away from everyone else, and took a seat. “Why were you so late? I know you didn’t get lost, so I won’t fall for that again!”

“Ran into nerd boy.” 

David turned to Neil. “Oh, hello Neil!”

“Uh- um hi…?” Seeing your counselor outside of camp was fucking weird.

“Crazy right?” Nikki whispered. “You’re here, by the way.” She pointed to the seat behind her.

Neil took his seat. To his left was Space Kid and to his right was a wall. 

“Who’s new kid?” Nurf, who was in front of Space Kid, pointed towards Max.

Neil bit his lip. “It… It’s Max.”

A very audible collective gasp filled the room.

“MAX??!” Nikki stood on her desk and stared at the boy who had been staring in silence the whole time.

“Yeah? The fuck you all shocked about?”

“Now, see,” David piped up. “Max, I may have, sort of…”

“You never told them I’d be here, did you?” David shook his head. “Goddammit. Did you even tell them you’d be working here?” Another shake. “For fuck’s sake, David.” Max turned to the others, standing on his unstable desk. “David works here as a health teacher, I’m back to public school after years of solitary, and I had no fucking clue _all_ of you bastards would be here. Got it?”

“Wait, _back_ to public school?” Harrison inquired.

Max glared at the redhead. “Did you not tell them _anything_ over the past three years?”

Preston stood on his desk as well. “SOMEBODY explain before class is over! I need my daily dose of drama and this is just getting juicy!” He sat back down, pulling out a pack of crackers he had probably received in his English class. 

“David was _supposed_ to tell you I wasn’t going to be at camp anymore because of _personal issues_ that also included getting homeschooled but I guess he didn’t.” Max shrugged, stepping off his desk and hopping onto David’s desk at the front of the room. He didn’t care as he knocked over a cup of pencils. He _did_ care however, when he accidentally knocked over a picture as he quickly grabbed it before it fell. 

“Y’all want a story?” He sighed, looking around the room at the kids he knew as his friends. “Grab your popcorn because you’re going to need something to keep yourself preoccupied.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Monster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6863vjJ9Ds  
> Lemon Boy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NzSpAJeKIg  
> Also yes, the names of the teachers are/were staff members of Camp Camp! If any of the women should have the "Mrs." title instead of the "Ms." please do tell me because I couldn't figure out who was married and who wasn't.


	2. Reconnecting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max talks a little to the ex-campers.

Max crossed his legs as he took a deep breath. “So, as you know, on the last day of camp I went home with my parents,” A few kids nodded. “Well, let’s just say home conditions weren’t the best.”

Neil narrowed his eyes. ‘ _Where’s he going with this?_ ’ He looked around the room and saw the different reactions of the other teenagers.

“My parents took me out of school, opting to homeschool me. I was supposed to go to Tweently Middle but…” He shrugged. “It was around January- I think- where it all kicked off. Something happened with my parents and it lead to the police getting involved. Me and my... family eventually moved to this city and now I go here.” The Indian looked over at David. “Dipshit was also supposed to tell anyone who went to this school that I was going here too, but I guess he didn’t.”

Max seemed to survey the room. Nerris looked skeptical, Harrison and Dolph too, Preston was quietly eating his crackers, eyes wide, Nurf looked bored, Ered looked sympathetic, Nikki looked confused, Neil was deep in thought, and Space Kid… well he’s Space Kid. Always smiling. “Happy?” Max huffed, crossing his arms.

“What happened with your parents?” Nikki asked.

Max sighed. “Nonya.”

“Nonya?” Nikki cocked her head to the left. 

“Nonya fuckin’ business.” Max snapped.

David nervously cleared his throat. “Okay, kids, settle.” He took a dry-erase marker and wrote his name on the board. 

“We know your name, David.” Max turned his body to face the man.

David only smiled. “Max, please go to your seat.” 

Max grunted and actually followed David’s instructions.

“You all know me as David, your camp counselor, but outside of this classroom, you are to refer to me as Mr. Luna!” 

Max snorted. “I fought him on that.”

“Yes. Yes you did!” David still kept the enthusiasm in his voice and face. “You are here in my health class and in this class you’re going to learn a lot about the body and some about the mind!”

“Great, cool, got any papers for us to get signed by our parents?” Nurf asked, twisting a knife on his desk, clearly bored out of his mind.

“Nurf, put the knife away.” David scolded. “You could get suspended for it.”

Nurf scoffed and continued to twist the weapon. “Do you have papers or not?”

The tall redhead sighed and grabbed a stack of papers. “Max, could you-”

Max stood up at the sound of his name. “Yeah, yeah, I got it.” He walked over to the desk, whispered something to David, then turned to the rest of the class. Just as he reached the two magic kids’ desks, David walked out of the room.

“Still doing magic?” Max asked to Harrison and Nerris as he counted the forms.

“I’ve been perfecting my tricks.” Harrison responded. Nerris only scowled. 

The magic boy grabbed Nerris’ hand. “And, uh, she goes to conventions and does cosplay and... stuff.” 

Max handed nine papers to Harrison, then looked at the couple’s hands. “You guys dating or something?”

Harrison opened his mouth to speak, but Nerris cut him off. “What, you suddenly care?”

Max looked taken aback by Nerris’ remark, well, as taken aback as he could. His hair covered his expression. “I mean, sure.” He shrugged.

“Um, yeah, we are.” Harrison quickly stated, seeing Nerris about make more remarks that would surely piss Max off. “Since last year, actually. One year anniversary in October.”

Max smiled a little. “Anyone else in a relationship or something?” He looked over the students. Everyone shook their head no.

“Cool. So, how’s life been?” Silence.

“So that’s it?” Dolph spoke up.

“Hm?”

“You just come back into our lives and act like everything’s normal?”

Everyone could sense how annoyed Max was getting. “I guess so. Look, my phone broke, I was being homeschooled, and I wasn’t allowed out of the house to go to any of your events. Trust me, if I could, I would’ve gone to Ered’s birthday, I would’ve gone to Space Kid’s sleepover, I would’ve gone to the 8th grade dance with you guys.”

“So what you’re saying is that you could see the messages but you never responded?” Preston asked, finishing up the crackers.

“Sort of? Messages came in every now and my messages never went through. It was around last May that my phone shattered.” He reached into his pocket. “I got a new one but a different number.”

“And you think we’ll exchange numbers with you and just add you to the group chat?” Nerris narrowed her eyes at Max. He shrugged.

“No? I’m just saying I got a new phone.” He waved his phone around a little. 

Nikki suddenly stood up and walked over to Max, phone in hand. 

“Nikki-” Nerris reached to grab Nikki’s wrist, but the teal-haired girl pulled away.

She took Max’s device and typed her number in, then sent herself a message, all without a word. “I can give you Neil’s too, if you want.”

“No it’s-” Max started to decline, but Neil quickly spoke up.

“He can have it.”

Preston and Space Kid followed up, giving Nikki permission to add their numbers into Max’s phone. 

After adding the numbers into the Indian’s phone, she seemed to look through his contacts. From her curious expression, she probably saw one that interested her.

“Hey!” Max snatched his phone from Nikki. “The fuck are you doing?”

“Aw, Max, it was a cute picture!” Nikki gushed. “When did it happen??”

“Never.”

“But there’s a photo-”

“ _Never. Happened._ ” He looked through his contacts and started typing, presumably editing contacts.

Nikki snickered at the Max's actions. “Where’d you get the pictures?”

“Camp Campbell.” Max continued typing.

“Hey, I wanna see your photo album!” Nikki exclaimed. 

“What?-” Before Max could react, Nikki had already stolen his device and ran to the other side of the room. “Nikki!”

The girl giggled, looking through the pictures on the phone.

Max quickly seized his phone back before Nikki could get to what Max dubbed the ‘embarrassing’ pictures.

Max went back to his seat and dropped his phone into his book bag.

“Why are you all the way over there?” Nikki asked, gaining the attention of the other kids. She had a fair point. Max’s seat was in the back on the left side of the room. Everyone else was on the right side of the room, filling up the two rows. There was a full row separating the groups.

“Didn’t think I would be welcomed back with open arms so I asked David to put me over here." 

“Why don’t you come on over here? There’s a seat next to Ered!” 

“No.”

“Then at the very least you’re sitting with us at lunch!” Nikki’s demand was immediately met with protests.

“Nah, I’m good.” Max waved off. “I have things to do.”

Neil shifted in his seat. Despite only knowing Max for about two or three months, he was able to read the boy rather well. He could tell that Max was hurt by the instant protests from the others.

As David came back into the room, Neil decided that he would sit with Max at lunch. He still felt like something was wrong and he was going to figure out what it was. 

After a little more introduction, David handed the rest of the period to the kids. He let them get on their phones and talk as long as they were quiet. 

Neil had wanted to go talk to Max, but David beat him to it. David was sitting in the desk next to Max. 

Nikki snapped her fingers in front of Neil’s face. “Hellooo?? Earth to Neil?”

“Wh-Wha- Huh? What?” He looked at his step-sister.

“We were debating whether or not the school lunch is going to be good. What do you think?” 

“School lunch is always shit. Quartermaster’s slop is better than anything a school can cook up.”

“Spoken like a true kid-who-brings-their-lunch.” Preston sighed. “My English teacher gave everyone like seven packs of crackers so I’m assuming the lunch is bad.” He opened his book bag to reveal six other cracker packs. “I will happily share these if you all end up eating cardboard.”

The kids started to chatter among themselves again, Neil once more getting lost in thought. He looked over to Max. David was no longer talking to him, but he seemed preoccupied with a paper. Neil could only assume it was one of those ‘All About Me’ activities that teachers gave out in an attempt to get an idea of who their students are. 

Gathering what little courage he had, Neil stood up to go over to Max’s desk. 

Just his luck that as soon as he stood up, the bell rang.

The ex-campers piled out of the classroom, waiting for one another. Except for Max. Max just pushed past them and continued down the hallway. Nikki moved to stop him so that they could walk together, but Nerris stopped her.

As soon as the last kid stepped out of the class, the group started to move towards the cafeteria. As they grew closer to the cafeteria, Neil could see Max in the crowd. He watched as the boy broke away from the horde of people and down another hallway. Neil cocked his eyebrow, ‘ _Where is he..._?’

The nerd started to lag behind. He was debating whether or not he should go after his friend… friend? Is Max still his friend? Neil had considered the kid his friend all throughout the time Max was absent. 

Passing the hall that Max had changed courses to, he entered the cafeteria with his friends. They found a table to call their own, and all the kids got up to go into the lunch line, leaving their bags in the seats they claimed. When they returned, it was time to test the food. Nurf, Neil, and Nerris had gotten the pizza, Harrison, Preston, and Space Kid got the cheeseburger, and Nikki, Ered, and Dolph got the taco. 

Most of the kids thought it was decent. Nerris and Neil, however, were struggling to even swallow the ‘pizza’ they had gotten. 

“It tastes like someone put dried mayonnaise on washed cardboard…” Nerris gagged. 

Neil pushed his tray away. “Never… never going to touch that again.”

Preston reached into his bookbag. “Crackers?” He held four packs out, two for Neil and two for Nerris.

“Thanks, Presty!” Nerris beamed, ripping the package open and shoving one into her mouth. “These are so much better!”

Neil looked at the two packs that were given to him, then looked over to Nerris and Harrison. Nerris was taking the cheese from the cheeseburger that Harrison had got and was putting it on the cracker. Neil looked around the cafeteria. He didn’t see the person he was looking for. 

He probably never even entered the cafeteria.

Neil stood up, gaining the attention of the others. 

“Where are you going?” Nikki asked.

“I…” Neil searched his mind for a good lie. “The bathroom. I’m going to try and get this thing,” He gestured at the sorry excuse of a pizza, “out of me. If I have bad breath when I return, that means it was a mission success.” The nerd left the cafeteria and tried to remember where Max had gone. He was surprised that there was still a crowd of kids in the hall. He eventually found himself fighting against a current. The brown-haired boy swerved his way to the wall, making sure he wasn’t getting in anyone’s way. Neil stalked along the wall, and soon enough, he found himself in an empty hallway. The crowd behind him began to fade. 

Quietly, Neil walked through the empty hall. The hallway ended in a dead end and only one door was open. Peering in, the boy saw a room full of textbooks and an open emergency exit door with stairs behind it. Neil stepped into the storage room, closing the door behind him, and started up the stairs. There was another door at the top. Neil pushed open the exit and was met with the bright sun.

Looking around, he realized he was on the rooftop. He looked behind the rooftop exit and saw Max sitting over the edge of the roof. Regaining the confidence he had at the end of health, Neil cleared his throat, gaining Max’s attention. 

The black-haired boy swiveled around, seemingly staring at the nerd. “What the hell? You get lost or something? Why the fuck are you here?”

“Well,” Neil approached the shorter kid, his confidence dwindling. “I saw you in the hall and I… I wanna talk to you.”

Max turned back around and scoffed. “Right. I abandon you for three years and you just want to talk.”

“I’m serious, Max.” Neil sat behind Max, too afraid to dangle his legs over the edge. “I… I still consider you my friend and… I just… want to know what happened.”

Max tilted his head. Neil swallowed and continued, “I still remember your face that last day of camp. You were scared, Max.” Max scoffed again. Neil ignored it. “You said things weren’t great at home. You said police got involved.” Neil put a hand on Max’s shoulder. “What was actually going on, Max?”

The boy didn’t respond. “I…” He twisted his body so that his back was facing the sun. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

The sentence echoed in Neil’s mind, reminding him of the time Harrison pulled a magic trick on Max their first year of camp. “Max-”

“I said I don’t want to fucking talk about it!” The black-haired boy snapped. He dragged his finger on the roof, mumbling a little. “If you wanna talk about something, why not talk about like…” A thought seemed to pop in the Indian’s head. “How was your summer?”

Neil sighed. He didn’t get to get what he wanted, but any positive conversation would be better than nothing. “Boring.”

“Really? I thought you loved camp.”

Neil perked. “Huh? Oh, uh, I didn’t go to camp this summer, actually.”

“Finally get tired of it?”

“W-Well…” Neil scratched the back of his head. “It just got boring after my second year.”

Max stopped dragging his finger against the smooth concrete. “How?”

Neil awkwardly looked into the distance. “You weren’t… you weren’t there.” He took a small rock and threw it off the roof. 

“Oh.” Max followed what Neil did and tossed a couple small rocks off the edge. “Was it really that bad without me?”

“It wasn’t _bad_.” Neil clarified. “It felt like a normal camp. There wasn’t a lot of chaos and… nothing bizarre ever happened. No cult leaders, no scouts trying to take over, no camp almost shutting down…” He tossed another stone. “Nothing like the first year.”

“Damn,” Max stood up. “That sounds boring as shit.” He took a bigger rock as Neil stood up as well. “See the red car?” Neil nodded. “That’s David’s. I’m betting my dessert on it.” He tossed the rock. 

“Max, are you going to-” He was cut off when Max suddenly threw the stone. It bounced off of the red car, putting a noticeable dent on the roof and surprisingly no car alarm. 

“Sweet. Looks like I’m getting dessert.” The Indian smiled a little. “I’m supposed to be getting chocolate cake for a ‘Happy first day at public school!’ or some shit like that.”

Neil heard a small grumbling noise and quickly realized it was Max. Max seemed to notice that Neil heard it. “You heard nothing.”

Noting that Max probably hadn’t eaten lunch, Neil reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pack of crackers that Preston had given him and handed them to Max.

“What?” Max looked down at it. 

“Preston had a lot more of them. Gave some to me and you’re obviously up here and not in the cafeteria…”

Max huffed. “Whatever.” He put the crackers into his hoodie pocket. “Lunch is almost over. You should probably head back now.”

“I guess…” Neil pouted a little. “What’s your next class?”

“French. You?”

“Latin.”

“Those classes are next to each other. I can show you the way if you need me to.” Max said and he and Neil walked towards the roof exit. 

Truthfully, Neil didn’t _need_ Max’s help, but it’d be nice to have the company. “Yeah, sure.”

“They let the kids out of the cafeteria earlier than what the lunch schedule says. Meet me where the stairs are, ‘kay?” Max patted Neil’s shoulder as he gathered his own things.

Neil nodded and left the storage room. He entered the cafeteria and rejoined the ex-campers. 

“Did it work?” Nikki asked him before he even sat down. It took Neil a quick second to remember the excuse he had used to leave. 

“Nah. I can still taste it.” He fake gagged. “I’m making my own lunch tomorrow.”

“Agreed.” Nerris mumbled from across the table. 

Just as Max had said, the teachers let the students go earlier than when the bell rang. The others didn’t know about that, so by the time the bell rang, Neil was already out the door. Sure enough, Max was standing at the bottom of the stairs, holding a half-eaten pack of crackers. 

“Language classes are up the purple coded stairs. English are up the yellow coded.” Max pointed to the colors that were supposed to identify the staircases. 

“Every hall has a color to it, huh?” Neil asked.

“Mmhm. They don’t need to be though. All the classes are in the same hall.” Max nodded. They started to go up the stairs. “Latin room’s 243. I’ve met the teacher. Real nice dude. Big nerd too, I think you’ll like him. Or not, knowing how you were with Space Kid.” 

“Oh lord.” Neil sighed. 

“That’s an interaction I want to see.” Max nudged Neil’s arm. “You should text me about it later. Or better yet, get a couple pictures.”

Neil smiled. “I’ll get what I can.”

The shorter boy smiled back. “More people are coming up here. See you later.” Max waved goodbye and entered his classroom.

The nerd entered his own class and observed the room. There were sticky notes on every desk that had people’s names on them. Neil found his desk being in the back. 

After the bell rang, the teacher walked in. He introduced himself in a loud, booming voice, one that Preston would be oh so envious of. Neil secretly recorded his whole introduction, even getting in the part where the guy referenced things like Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons. 

‘ _Isn’t this going to be peachy. God I can’t wait for this class to be over._ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm already hating this story, yet, I love it at the same time.  
> I, uh, I hope this works? So I thought about doing a relationship chart for each chapter to show the progression of the relationships. It's a google doc and I've never done something like this before. So um, https://docs.google.com/document/d/13oOtLQnFNo08wNkcmPiNxZZw1RAEdnNgropj449QBtQ/edit?usp=sharing


	3. Little Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil and Nikki devise a plan to hang out with Max.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy the doc link worked!!! And thank you for the kind comments qwq  
> I did not intend for this to be so long.

Neil sighed, putting his bookbag on his desk and propping his phone against it. In his mostly empty photo gallery resided photos and videos of Mr. Cwierz. The man had only taken the first thirty minutes doing the whole ‘let me introduce myself and the class’. After that, he started interacting with the students and telling some of his own stories. 

Getting bored of looking at his photo gallery, Neil switched over to his messages, finding the group chat overflowing. He skimmed through the chat, noticing a minor argument took place between Nikki and Nerris before they both disappeared from the conversation. The others were just talking about their classes. 

Exiting out of the chat, he saw the simple ‘hi’ from Max he had received around two hours prior. It was sent from Nikki when they were exchanging numbers. 

‘ _You should text me about it later_.’ Max’s words echoed in the nerd’s mind. Neil tapped on Max’s contact and loaded up the videos he had gotten. His finger hovered over the ‘send’ button for a few seconds before he hit it. As the videos were sending, he got a text from Nikki.

 **Ikk: How do u convince someone to walk with u???**

Neil stared at the message, confused. 

**???**

**Ikk: Im trying to get max to walk with us!!! hes rejecting me!! :(((**

**We take the bus...? What are you even saying to him?**

**Ikk: I said ‘u should walk with me n neil today!!’ and he said ‘no’ !! i want him to walk with us :(((((((( i havent seen him in so longggggg**

**Ikk: And max said he hates the bus so why not walk???**

**It’s the first day of school, Nikki. Maybe he has something to do.**

**Ikk: All i want is to talk with him :,,,((((( in person catch up ig**

**There’s always tomorrow.**

**Ikk: Yeah but its unfair that u got to spend a whole lunch period with him >:( i was stuck with nerris and harrison and all their flirting**

Neil froze. ‘ _How.._?” Nikki seemed to notice the silence through the phone.

**Ikk: Wut u think i didnt know??? i saw you walking with him after lunch plus u clearly didnt go to the bathroom cuz i went to the bathroom too and u werent in there**

**You went to the boys bathroom??**

**Ikk: No dummy i waited outside to make sure u were ok and u never came out plus no one was in there and the only other bathrooms were across the school**

**Ikk: And i knew max wasnt in the cafe and u were clearly looking for him bfor u left**

**Ikk: Again how can i convince him to walk with us**

**Nikki, it’d be like a fifty minute walk home. Do you even know where Max lives?**

**Ikk: He lives like ten minutes from the wendys**

**That’s in the complete opposite direction of where we live!**

**Ikk: Yeah but hed stay at our place and then go home!! wed hang out and itd be like old times**

‘ _Old times_?’ Neil leaned back in his seat. 

**Ikk: Yknow back when we first met**

Neil sighed, giving in. He’d give anything to go back to that first year of camp and Nikki knew that.

**Fine. Tell him he better walk with us or else he’s sitting next to Ered in health.**

**Ikk: OOH THATS SMART THX**

Just then, Neil got a text from Max. The videos had all sent and Neil could see that every single one was watched. 

**Max: he’s like a mix of space kid and preston**

**Max: i feel bad for u**

**Max: i won’t lie tho, i busted my ass laughing when he slid across the table**

**Max: if it wasn’t u who put the slippery shit on the floor i’m going to push u off the roof tmrw**

**It wasn’t me. I wish it was, though.**

**Max: damn**

**Max: say goodbye to most of ur bones**

**Who says I’ll go to the roof tomorrow?**

There was a short silence between the two after Neil sent that.

**Max: dude i’m not walking with y’all**

‘ _So Nikki texted him…_ ’

**Max: also the fuck you literally told me you’d go to the roof tomorrow bc u didn’t want to deal with everyone’s bullshit**

**Max: i heard it with my own two ears**

**I was kidding. Also, you’d rather sit next to Ered then just hang out with us for a while? Harsh :,(**

**Max: u can’t make me sit there david won’t switch seats**

**I’m sure we can make him.**

**Max: no u can’t**

**He’s in the room right now, Max. I’m gonna ask him.**

That was true, actually. David was in the room. Mr. Cwierz was in the bathroom and needed a quick substitute. 

**Max: bet do it**

Neil raised his hand, gaining David’s attention. 

“What is it, Neil?” The redhead loomed over Neil’s desk.

“Do you think you could put Max next to Ered in health? He’s claiming you won’t move seats.”

“Well, originally all of you were going to be spread around the class,” David tapped his fingertips together, “but Max fought me about it. He refused to do a lot of stuff until I made it so that he was alone.”

“But you’re the teacher.” Neil pointed out. “It’s your classroom. You could always give him a bad grade or something if he refuses to do something.”

“You do have a point…” David pondered for a second. “I could switch a few seats around… why were you and Max discussing a seat change, anyway?”

“Nikki and I are trying to get him to walk home with us today. We’d hang out for a while and then he’d get someone to take him home.”

A light shone on Neil’s face. David looked down to a notification from the nerd’s phone. It was a message from Max.

**Max: wait were u serious? is he actually in the room with u??**

“And if he doesn’t accept the hangout invite we’re gonna force him to sit with us in health.” Neil clicked his tongue. 

A faint smile appeared on David’s face, despite his strict tone of voice. “Well, did you guys even ask your parents? And why are you on your phone in class?”

Neil waved him off. “My dad doesn’t get home until like 7 and Candy doesn’t get back until 9. Max leaves at 6:30, no biggie.” 

David crossed his arms, seemingly not caring that Neil ignored his second question. “What about Max’s parents? Are they okay with it?”

“He’ll ask them.” Neil opened his phone back up. “Or not. You know how Max is... or was. I mean, he seems the same from when he was ten.”

The teacher let out a small chuckle. “Yeah, he’s still the same. Honestly, Neil, the only thing that’s changed about him is how secretive he is.” 

“How do you know that?”

David’s face paled for a millisecond, but he quickly regained his composure. The quick panic didn’t go unnoticed by Neil, though. “When I first started working here, I found out Max was going here and he just kind of stuck around. I don’t know a lot about what happened in the past three years, so I’m just as in the dark as you are!” 

**Max: neil????? i’m abt to come to ur class**

**Max: respond dipshit**

“Well,” David started after eyeing the messages. “I think you three hanging out is a great idea! If Max doesn’t go, I can work something out.” David then attended to another student who raised their hand.

**He said he’d move your seat.**

**Max: he’s fuckin’ dead**

**Max: no health class tomorrow**

**Max: red man dead man**

**Shush.**

**You’re walking with us.**

**Max: fuck u**

Mr. Cwierz walked back in, thanking David as the health teacher exited. There were only about three minutes left of the day and the teacher spent it conversing with a group of kids on the opposite side of the room. 

**I’ll meet you and Nikki at the health room.**

Neil shoved his phone in the side of his bag and watched the seconds tick by. Two seconds after the long hand passed by the third tick after the 3, the bell rang and the kids hastily exited the classroom, eager to go home. 

Neil made his way back towards his health classroom. As he passed through the main hall, he saw Nikki at the end of the hall talking to Ered.

Lowenthal pushed through the crowd and into the hallway that contained David’s class and propped himself up against the wall next to the door. After heaving a sigh, he realized he never texted Nikki to tell her to meet him at the health room. _‘Fuck.’_

**Meet me and Max at David’s classroom.**

‘ _Hopefully she’ll see it_.’

“I fucking hate you.” Neil jumped at the voice. He turned around to find Max standing in the doorway of the class. 

“Oh, Max,” He stood up, brushing himself off. “Nikki should be with us soon.”

Max nodded and leaned against the doorway. “You like Mr. Cweird or whatever the fuck his name is?”

“Not really,” Neil let go of his bookbag, letting it hit the floor. “I’m sure he’s a great guy, but, god, he’s going to get on my nerves.”

“Now you know why I hated David so much.” 

The nerd paused for a second. “Maybe so.”

“Where are we even going?” Max crossed his arms. “I mean, whose house are we going to?”

“Oh,” Neil rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, about that, Nikki’s mom and my dad are dating. We live in the same house.”

“Damn. I remember your explicit distaste for that whore. Has she cheated yet?” 

“Not that I know of. I think she’s settling for my dad right now. Though, I’m almost positive it’s for the money.” Neil shrugged. 

A bundle of teal hair popped up from behind Max. “I dunno, Neil, I think our parents really like each other!”

“JESUS FUCK-” Max yelled, almost falling from Nikki’s sudden appearance. He grabbed onto Neil’s black sweater sleeve for support. “GODDAMMIT- don’t do that!”

“Sorry, Max!” Nikki sheepishly smiled before a look of pure joy replaced it. “Oh my gosh- Max!!” She exclaimed, pulling the younger boy into a tight hug. The boy, in turn, tightened his grasp on Neil’s arm. “It’s been so long!” She pulled away, hands on his shoulders, “How have you been? What’s it’s like getting homeschooled? Why were you and Neil skipping lunch? Why-” 

“Okay, okay,” Max shook her hands off of him. “First off, kind of shitty, secondly, shitty, thirdly, how’d you know?”

“Neil was looking for you in the cafeteria!” Max looked up at Neil. “I saw you guys walking after lunch so I just kind of assumed… but Neil sorta confirmed it!”

Max looked back down at Neil’s arm, realizing he was still holding on, and quickly let go. “Whatever.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” Nikki exclaimed, practically bouncing as she took a few steps towards the end of the hall. “There’s so much to catch up on!”

Neil cleared his throat. “Uh, exit’s that-”

“There’s doors right here, dumbass.” Max smacked the back of Neil’s neck, following Nikki.

“Oh,” Neil blushed from embarrassment. “I knew that.”

“Sure you did.” Max held a smirk on his face.

Neil followed the two around the corner of the hall to find that there were indeed a set of glass doors. Nikki excitedly pushed them open, slipping through them and almost hitting Max in the face as the door closed. 

Max’s hand shot out in front of him, catching the bar. “Damn, not even gonna hold them open?” 

“Oops, sorry!” Nikki grabbed the handle, pulling it open with ease.

The boys stepped out, taking a quick look at their surroundings. “Alright,” Max started, “where the fuck are we going?”

Nikki shrugged. Neil sighed. “This way.” He walked past the younger kids towards where the crossing guard was. 

After the first sidewalk turn, Nikki perked up. “Oh, I know this place!” She pointed to a tree. “That’s Viney! There was a really bad hurricane once and he was covered in vines!” She looked over to a bunch of flowers sprouting out of a fence. “And Air Freshener!”

Max snorted. “‘Air Freshener’?”

“Yeah!” Nikki tugged on her bookbag straps. “This woman always takes the flowers and makes homemade air fresheners. My mom’s a sucker for those!”

“In what way?” Max grinned. 

Neil elbowed him. “Not like that!” 

The shorter boy held his hands up in defense. “She said it, not me!” 

Nikki giggled, skipping ahead of the boys. “There used to be a huge tree covered in these really pretty flowers, but when the hurricane struck, it was torn out of-” She gasped, “THE DEATH HOLE!” The teal-haired girl suddenly hopped onto a wooden fence, a large smile plastered on her face. Ahead of her was a bunch of hemlock trees.

“Nikki, no!” Neil ran up to her, latching his arms around Nikki’s torso as the girl attempted to leap into a field of trees.

“Aw…” Nikki solemnly went limp in Neil’s grasp as he pulled her back to the sidewalk. He held her wrist to make sure she wouldn’t try to jump across the railing again.

“Okay,” Max strolled next to Neil, now being on the outer side of the sidewalk. “What the fuck was that?”

“There’s this thing known as the ‘death hole’,” Neil explained, “It’s where this giant tree used to be. A hurricane ripped it out of the ground and it destroyed, like, three houses across the city. In its place is a giant hole that turned into a pond because of rain. It’s killed a ton of animals because the water became so polluted.” 

“Damn.” Max looked back to the tree field. “Has it ever killed a person?” 

“No. Kids had to go to the hospital though.” 

“Can it kill you though?” Max gazed across the street, his voice quiet.

“Probably!” Nikki piped up, regaining most of her spark. “It felt worse than when I got my period!” 

“What?” Max turned his attention back to the girl.

“She drank the water.” Neil plainly said. “Candy refuses to let her out of her sight around here.”

Nikki crossed her arms. “It was one time! I don’t know why she won’t let me go back!”

“It was five!” Neil retorted. “And every time you had to go to the hospital!” 

Max pushed his way between the step-siblings, facing Nikki. “What’d it’d feel like?”

“Oh,” Nikki playfully rolled her eyes.“It was _awful_! It was like everything inside of me hated me! And I mean _everything_!” 

Nikki kept describing her situations with the water, causing Max to become more and more intrigued. Neil chimed in every now and then to correct her. 

“They said I might have had chiropractor!” Nikki beamed.

“ _Cancer_.” Neil muttered. “How do you even confuse-?”

“Yeah, yeah, anyway, the doctors recommended that my mom keep me on a leash, and- oh! We’re here!” The teal-haired girl ran to the front door, scrambling up the stairs of the wooden porch and shuffling through her bookbag to get her key out. 

The black-haired boy stared at the porch. “Nice.” Max commented. 

“What?” 

“House.” The younger boy shrugged. “Looks nice. You’ve got a garden, an intact fence, the paint still looks fresh…” 

“Uh…” Neil held his hands in his signature raptor position. “Thank you?”

“Mmhm.” Max hummed as he walked up to the now opened door. 

Neil closed the door behind him once he was inside and saw Nikki run into the kitchen. “Do you want anything to eat?” He asked, remembering that Max only had crackers for lunch.

“I’m good.” Max held his hand up. 

“You sure?” 

“I said ‘I’m good’, Neil.”

Neil frowned. “Okay… um, do you want to go to my room or-”

“Yours. I don’t know and I don’t want to know what’s in _her_ room.” Max walked over to the stairs after pointing to the kitchen doorway. “I’m going to assume it’s upstairs?”

“Y-Yeah! First room on the right. Here, let me show you.” Neil pushed past Max and ascended up the stairs. When they reached the top, Neil led Max into a narrow hallway. He stopped in front of a copper brown door with an old paper nailed into it. It read ‘Neils’, but it was written in extremely bad handwriting. “Nikki.” Neil simply said, catching Max’s gaze. “When we first moved in she thought it’d be brilliant to nail a paper into my door. Fuckers been stuck in the wood for years.” He turned the knob.

Max tried to stifle his laugh as he entered the nerd’s room. “Just as I suspected. You’re still a huge fuckin’ dork.” He tapped his left index finger on a telescope looking out of a window. “Ever see some cool shit?”

Neil placed his bag at the foot of his bed. “Mmhm. Last night I saw Orion. Spent a good while trying to find betelgeuse.”

“Betelgeuse?”

“It’s a star in Orion. It’s like the shoulder-”

“Alright, alright,” Max flung his bag across the room, letting it hit the floor. “I don’t want to hear about the stars or some shit… you make this?” The black-haired boy held up a bundle of popsicle sticks shaped like an asterisk that was lying on a black, wooden desk. Each stick was colored in acrylic paint. On one side, there were at least three different colors on each stick and on the other side were initials. 

Neil came up behind Max, looking over his shoulder at the asterisk. “Y-yeah… I made that three months after camp ended.” He walked back to his bed and pulled a white binder labeled ‘Latin’ out. 

“Damn!” Max exclaimed. The Jewish boy looked behind him to see Max leaning over Neil’s desk. “Did you really keep this?” The shorter boy turned around, a block of sunstone in his hands. Carved into it was ‘Neil’. 

“Oh,” Neil smiled, “of course I kept that! You gave it to me.” Neil quickly placed his binder back down. “I still have that too,” He pointed up to a tree branch covered in christmas lights. 

“Do the lights even work?” 

“Well-” 

The main light suddenly went out after the sound of a click. “Heck yes they still work!” Nikki's voice rang out throughout the room. She ran over to the outlet next to the desk and plugged the christmas lights in after placing three sets of poptarts onto the table. They easily filled the room with a dim rainbow. 

“I’m surprised they haven’t run out yet.” Neil chuckled. 

Max lightly punched Neil in the arm. “You’re a dumbass.”

“Huh?” 

“You kept them.” Max shoved his hands into his pockets. “You weren’t supposed to keep them.”

“Why not?” Nikki hopped next to Max. “I mean, you gave a lot of stuff to Neil. Did you expect him to throw it all away?”

“Yes.” Max looked up at Neil. “Do you really have all the other stuff?” His voice was quiet.

Neil nodded. “Some of it’s in the closet, others are in the attic and basement because I ran out of room. There’s only so much space on a desk and bookcase… I kept my favorites out, though.”

Max’s expression seemed to shift, but the lack of visible eyes prevented Neil from reading the younger boy properly. 

“I brought poptarts.” Nikki gestured to the poptarts on the desk. “I don’t know what you like, Max, so I just got you the sundae one.” 

The black haired boy stared down at the pastries as Neil flicked the lights back on. 

“Aww…” Nikki pouted at Neil’s action. 

“I use it when I study.” Neil plainly said. “Not for anything else.” He unplugged the lights and grabbed the strawberry poptarts. 

“You basic bitch.” Max smirked. 

“What?” Neil pretended to look offended. “Strawberry is good!”

“Basic.” Max took hold of the sundae flavored poptart. 

Neil opened his mouth to respond, but Nikki swiftly hopped onto his bed, catching him off guard. 

“Anyway,” She spilt the crumbs of her pastries onto the bed and ignored Neil’s scolding. “How’ve you been, Max?”

“You’ve asked me this.” Max bit into his treat. 

“Yeah, but I wanna, like, hear a story or something. Oh! How about we share stories! That’d be fun!” 

The Indian huffed, his mouth still full. “A story? Well… once I broke my dad’s foot by dropping a bookshelf onto him.”

The Jewish boy stared at him. “You did what?”

“Yeah,” Max swallowed. “Broke it. I thought for sure he’d get pissed and ground me or something. He’s got a bruise on… I think it’s the right foot? Yeah, a bruise just above the toes on his right foot.”

“If I did that to my dad, oh boy, I’d be grounded for a month!” Nikki chuckled. 

“I caused my dad to cut his nail too much once. Grounded me for a week.” Neil brushed the crumbs off of his bed. “He gets mad for the dumbest shit.” 

Nikki nodded in agreement. “Neil dropped a fork once.”

“Two days.” Neil sighed. 

Max absently nodded. “I’ve never gotten grounded.”

Nikki and Neil almost choked. “ _You? Not_ grounded?!” Neil exclaimed. “ _How_?!”

The black-haired boy shrugged. “My parents didn’t really care about what I did. My curfew was twelve in the morning and usually they’d be asleep by then. There were a fuck ton of times I came home at, like… three or something. City’s really fucking quiet after midnight.”

Neil sat there, processing Max’s tale while Nikki licked the remnants of the pastries from her fingers, her eyes not leaving Max. “I had to be home before nine at night. I get grounded for however long I’m late.” Nikki wiped her hands on the paper towel she had brought the poptarts on.

Max swallowed down the rest of the first pastry and noticed the nerd staring at him. “Hey, Neil, you okay?”

Neil blinked. “Wh- huh?” He shook his head. “Sorry, sorry.” Neil sat on his bed. “Just… your curfew is at midnight?”

Max took Neil’s rolling chair and turned it around. “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” He sat down, his stomach pressed against the back of the chair. 

“A curfew should be until ten at most. What kind of parents let their kid out until midnight? And fall asleep knowing their child is still out there at that!”

“Obviously mine.” Max spun around. “I doubt they fell asleep on purpose, though. Found them either at the dining table or the sofa when I got home. They’d be gone by the time I woke up.”

“Gone?” Nikki cocked her head. 

“For work. My mother was a fashion designer and my father owned a business.”

Neil did the math in his head. “So… are you, like, wealthy?”

“Sort of?” Max paused. “I mean, both businesses are kind of dying.” He crumpled up the now empty paper towel and threw it at Nikki. She yelped as the paper hit her bare skin. 

“Oh. Well, um, sorry… about that.” Neil grabbed the trash from Nikki and silently stood. “I mean, are you… good for now? Sorry for the wording.” 

Max shrugged. “Yeah. I don’t see my parents anymore, though.” He buried his face in his arms. 

Neil and Nikki stopped and stared at the younger boy. “Oh…” Nikki hopped up and walked over to Max, attempting to pull him into a hug. Max rolled away from her.

“It doesn’t bother me. I like it when they’re gone.” The chair bumped into the wall, causing Max to go forward a little. 

“Are you sure?” Nikki stepped forward, her arms starting to stretch out again. 

“Positive.” Max added a small smile into his answer. 

Nikki backed away, letting herself fall onto the bed. She let out an exasperated sigh before sitting back up, innocence filling her voice. “Why do you cover up your eyes, Max?” 

“What?”

“Your eyes are covered by your hair. I wanna see some blue!”

“Blue?” Max lifted his head up and pushed back his hair, revealing his right eye. “It’s green, bitch.” 

“You _were_ the person with the weirdly colored eyes!” Nikki exclaimed.

Neil crossed his arms. “That's what I've been telling you for years!”

“Speak for yourself.” Max huffed, ignoring Neil’s statement and shaking his head. His eye was no longer visible. “Ms. Pink Eye.”

“Fair point.” Nikki chuckled, widening her eyes. “‘Ms. Pink Eye’...” She tapped her chin.

“What have you done?” Neil stared at Max.

“What?”

“You’ve given her an idea!”

A smirk grew on the girl’s face. “What if I convince our parents that I have pink eye so I can avoid the pretest tomorrow?”

Max held back a snort. “That’s never going to work.”

“You’d be surprised.” Neil sighed. 

Nikki giggled, letting her body fall backward again and kicking her legs in the air. 

“Is she okay?” Max looked over to Neil. 

Neil only shrugged. 

In a flash of motion, Nikki’s body flew upright, a bright smile on her face. “We should play Minecraft!” 

“You guys have Minecraft?” Max kicked his legs. “I thought that game died or something.”

“Don’t be silly! Minecraft will never die!” Nikki stood up and darted out of the room. Neil and Max could hear as she fell down the last few stairs. “I’m okay!” She screamed, her voice fading as her footsteps picked up again. There was a beep, meaning she had just turned the PS4 on.

“Well,” Neil walked towards the door, “I guess we’re playing Minecraft now.”

“Guess so.” Max followed the taller boy out of the room and down the stairs to find Nikki logging into a server

“Uh, Nikki?” Neil took the red controller Nikki handed to him. “Don’t you think you should make another server? Y’know… for Max?”

“It’s the friend server.”

“Yeah, but… if the others find out that Max was on this server… especially Nerris-”

“Oh, screw her.” Both boys seemed taken aback by the slight venom in her voice. “Besides, who’s gonna figure out he was on here? The server doesn’t track guests.”

“I guess… that’s true.” Neil thought for a moment. “What if someone logs on while we’re on?”

“Ered’s busy, Nurf’s going on a date, Harrison’s gonna be with Nerris somewhere, it’s Space Kid’s aunts birthday, Dolph is working on an art piece, and Preston is helping his mom out at the hospital. No one’s going to join.” She held a gold controller out to Max. “Let’s build!”

Everyone seemed to have their own space on the map. After a lengthy amount of exploring, Max finally found an open plain that was far enough from everything else. For the next few hours, the black-haired boy built a mansion while the other two kids expanded on their current projects. Neither one was paying attention to what Max was doing. 

Breaking the silence, Neil’s phone buzzed. It was an alarm he had set to signal that Max was to go home in the next thirty minutes. 

“Aw, man!” Nikki whined when she heard the buzzing. 

“Well damn.” Max huffed. “I didn’t get to finish.” His character flew back, looking over his creation. 

“Hot dang, Max!” The teal-haired girl leaned forward. “Did you really build that?”

“Uh… yeah?” Max put the controller down and stretched. “I’m still pissed. I didn’t finish.”

“It looks finished.” Neil commented. 

“Yeah, well, it isn’t.” 

Max had built a huge mansion. A _huge. Ass. Mansion_. It was on a mountainside with a long staircase leading up to a door that opened and closed through redstone. It was impressive. It made Neil question if Max played the game often. After all, he seemed like he knew what he was talking about when Nikki didn’t understand how to avoid getting hit by a ghazt. 

They cleaned until there was absolutely no sign that Max was there. 

When Max confirmed his ride was at the house, he met his friends at the door and said his goodbyes.

“I don’t want you to leave!” Nikki hugged him tightly. 

“You’ll see me tomorrow!” The younger boy attempted to push Nikki off of him. 

Neil helped pry the girl off. “See you tomorrow, Max.”

“See you tomorrow, Neil.” He waved. “You too, Nikki.”

Once Max was in the car, Neil closed the door. He heard the few sounds of Nikki saving the game behind him. “So,” He spun on his heel. “That happened.”

“Yeah, it did.” Nikki quietly responded. 

“It-”

“Didn’t feel any different.” A small smile was on the girl’s face.

Neil returned the smile. “Yeah. Didn’t feel any different.”

“I’m tired.” Nikki yawned as she put the controllers in their places.

“Same.” Neil turned the kitchen light off. “We need papers to be signed though.”

“We can do it in the morning.” Nikki waved off. 

Neil walked over to his sister. “I’ll get both of ours signed, just give me yours.”

Nikki reached into her bag that was still sitting on the dining table and pulled out the forms from her classes. “I’m gonna take a shower, then it’s lights out.” She yawned again. 

“Take your bag with you.” Neil said as Nikki was about to leave the room. 

The girl nodded and slung one strap over her shoulder. “What a day.” She mumbled with a small smile on her face.

Neil searched the living room for a pen, eventually finding one tucked under the couch. At precisely 7:23, Neil’s father walked through the door. “Hey, dad,” He handed him the papers and the pen.

“Oh, right,” A tired smile formed on Carl’s face, “paperwork…” He patted his son’s hair. “I’ll get it to you in the morning, okay?” 

Neil sighed, turning away and walking up the stairs. He gathered some clothes and hopped into the shower, cursing Nikki for using all of the hot water. Once finished, he wrapped his body in a towel and stepped into the hall, relishing in the warmer air hitting his skin.

He trudged to his bedroom and got dressed. As soon as he tugged his pajama pants on, he flopped down onto his bed. 

Neil hummed and buried his face in his pillow. He turned on his alarm and stared at the time. It was 8:02. Usually he’d be up until 3. ' _Did a lot today, I guess_.’

His eyes closed and within minutes, he slipped into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can y'all tell I rushed the ending?  
> I also did not intend to have Nikki, Neil, and Max hang out so soon. Oh well.  
> Okay so the Death Hole is a thing now  
> So this link is to the relationship chart, but I added a lot more at the bottom. If you want to get to know the characters a bit better, there some stuff describing their appearances and personalities. Prepare your eyes for bad art.  
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SIFcy8BBQmK-fzrMCMMH9gZp202GpF02LmFXKG4P7fs/edit?usp=sharing


	4. School Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Innocent fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can not tell you the amount of times the beginning of this chapter has been rewritten.  
> This is officially the longest chapter I have ever written in my whole life.  
> Whoever renamed Neil's tag to "Science Camp Neil", I just wanna talk (no but seriously who the fuck allowed that)

A quick flash of sound caused Neil to snap his eyes wide open. He sat up, rubbing his eyes while mumbling science facts to himself. His alarm clock was two minutes from going off and sitting next to it were the papers he and Nikki had needed signed. Neil let his body fall back, attempting to squeeze in those last two minutes of peace before all hell broke loose.

The first beep didn’t even finish when Neil slammed his hand on the snooze button. He tiredly sat up and blindly pressed a few buttons until the clock’s alarm was off. 

**5:00 AM.**

With a huff, the nerd stood up and stumbled over to his door. He opened it and was met with light which caused his eyes to have to adjust, sending his eyesight to black out a bit. He hobbled down the stairs, the scent of coffee filling his senses as his bare feet hit the cold wood. 

“Morning, son.” Carl sat at the dining table, looking over his laptop.

“G’morning, dad.” The boy quietly grabbed a box of Cheerios and the gallon of milk, preparing to toss both into a bowl. Back when Neil was, like, five, he always mixed different cereals together and called it a “concoction of sugar pellets”. While Neil loved thinking back to those old days, he wouldn’t hesitate for a second to slap the shit out of his younger self. 

Halfway through his breakfast, he heard Nikki skip down the staircase. Entering the kitchen, she had a bright smile on her face. “Morning, Steppy!” Neil cringed at Nikki’s nickname for his dad.

“Morning, Nikki.” 

The girl bounced over to the counter, following what Neil did earlier except with Fruity Pebbles. She sat next to Neil and hungrily scarfed down the contents of the bowl she had just prepared. 

“I didn’t get to ask, but how was your first day?” Carl looked up at his kids, closing the laptop halfway. 

“It was great!” Nikki said, mouth full. She swallowed. “Our camp counselor is our health teacher!”

“Oh, he is?” Carl smiled. “That’s nice.”

Nikki nodded. “Uh huh! Neil was late for class yesterday, so he didn’t get to experience the group shock!”

Neil absently circled his spoon in his cereal as he felt the subtle glare his father gave him. 

“You were late?”

With a shallow sigh, Neil looked up at his dad. “I ran into Max.”

Any look of disappointment left Carl’s face. “Max? You mean that kid you met that first camp year?” 

“Yeah. There was this guy who pushed him into the wall and I just happened to witness it. Helped him up, then found out it was him. We had the same class and David didn’t mind.”

“That’s wonderful, Neil!” Carl smiled at his son. “I know you missed that kid like crazy… glad to see you guys finally together again.”

Neil was chagrined by his father’s statement. “Yeah,” he swallowed thickly, “great.”

Nikki drank the milk from her bowl and stood, swiping Neil’s too and almost sprinting to the sink as Carl left the kitchen. She walked back over with a paper towel and started cleaning the table. “I’m so excited! I can’t wait for health!” 

Neil only nodded, he was too tired to give a shit about anything. 

“You think one day we’ll get Max to sit with us?”

“Maybe,” Neil stood, “if everyone decides he’s not a selfish dick who abandoned all his friends. You don’t believe that still, do you?”

“What? No! I mean,” She cleared her throat, “I never believed he was like that!”

Neil narrowed his eyes at her. 

“Okay, okay, maybe I did a little.” She threw her hands up in defense. “I admit, I started to believe it over the summer. When I saw him though, I just… I dunno. He didn’t act like he wanted nothing to do with us, y’know? I guess him just interacting, or, trying to interact, I guess, with us made me change my mind.”

“What about the others?”

The teal haired girl hummed. “I don’t think Preston and Space Kid have a problem with him.”

“Yeah, but, Space Kid’s friendly to everybody and Preston… well, he’s Preston.”

Nikki leaned against the counter. “There’s Nurf, Ered, Harrison, and Dolph. I’m not really sure about them.”

“What about Nerris?”

“What about Nerris?” Nikki echoed, her voice holding a bit of venom.

Neil sighed. “I saw the group chat. It was about Max, right?”

Nikki shrugged. “Maybe.” She pushed off the counter. “Say, you told Max that you left some more of the stuff he gave you out, right?”

Lowenthal glared at his sister. ‘ _She’s changing the subject_.’ “Nikki, about Nerris-”

“Is there any chance that the bracelet on your bed was from Max?”

Neil blinked. “How-? I, uh, what- what bracelet?”

Nikki smiled and hopped out of the kitchen. “The one behind the headboard!”

“Were you snooping through my room?!” Neil followed after her. 

The girl shrugged. “I may or may not have.”

Neil let out a loud sigh. “I- just, _ugh_ , don’t do that.”

Nikki stood at the base of the stairs and giggled. “I found it when we first moved in, Neil. I stopped going in your room in, like, 7th grade!” She started ascending with a grumbling Neil following.

Once they reached the top, they went to their respective rooms. However, Nikki stopped at hers. “You know, you never told me he was pushed into a wall. Who did it?” 

Neil looked back to his sister, seeing the serious look painted across her face. “All I can tell you is that the guy was twice Max’s height and he had blond hair. Looked like a sporty person. Letterman jacket and everything.”

“Sounds like a douche.” Nikki commented and spun into her room.

Neil shook his head and entered his room. He flung his closet open and took out one of his many black sweaters. 

**5:43 AM**

The nerd looked over the table next to his bed. The papers were still there. ‘ _I’ll just… hold onto them_.’ To be honest, Neil didn’t trust Nikki with her papers. Don’t need a repeat of 6th grade.

He neatly placed the forms into their respective binders and placed them into his bookbag. After zipping it up, he sighed to himself. He had an hour to kill and frankly, he didn’t want to waste it doing nothing. 

He went to his door and peered out of it. ‘ _No one_.’ Quietly, he closed it and stood at the foot of his bed. Neil ducked under his bed and blindly searched. His hand brushed over a book and he quickly pulled it out. Looking down at the book, a small smile formed on his face. 

_Diary 3_

Quickly, Neil flipped to the next empty page. He snatched a blue mechanical pencil and started writing. 

_September 10th, 2019_

_Yesterday was interesting. Max is back. Yes, he’s back. After three years. I’m happy? I feel like I should be mad. No words, nothing. Just back. I think Nikki and I are the only people who are okay with that. Maybe Preston and Space Kid are; they did give him their numbers. David is our health teacher and well, that’s kind of weird. We played Minecraft yesterday. He seems the same, but honestly? I think there’s something off. There has to be a reason he was gone for three years. He said something happened with his parents that involved the police. He never really opened up to us._

Neil closed his diary and threw it under his bed. Sure, it wasn’t the best place to hide something so personal, but Neil would rather not spend another two months of his life trying to find a better spot.

**6:01 AM**

The boy stood up. He stretched, letting out a relaxed sigh and found that his gaze landed on the block of sunstone. 

_“Hey, Neil?”_

_“Hm?” Neil turned his head to the short boy._

_Without a word, Max thrusted a block wrapped in old rags out in front of him. Neil hesitantly took it. “What’s this?”_

_“Why don’t you unwrap it and find out?” Max’s voice was quiet (which was unusual for the boy), but it still held a bit of aggressiveness_.

_Neil slowly peeled the rags off the mysterious object. He tugged the last one off and stared at a blank, orange block. “What-?”_

_“Turn it around, dumbass!”_

_Following what Max said, Neil flipped it over and silently gasped. Carved into the stone was ‘Neil’. “This is… wow. I-”_

_“Do not look too deeply into this!” Max huffed. “David said to ‘do something nice for a friend’, or I’m not getting dessert. So… here. Keep it or throw it away, I don't care.”_

Neil smiled at the memory. 

**6:12 AM**

**Max: ok, so, we gon have a sub for health**

**How do you know?**

**Max: david fell down some stairs**

**Ouch.**

**Max: ouch**

**Did you push him down the stairs?**

**Max: fuck**

**Max: i’ve been found out**

**What did David do to make you want to push him down the stairs??**

**Max: he breathed**

**Poor David.**

**Max: don’t feel bad**

**Max: he deserved it**

Neil leaned against his window.

**Max: damn gotta go**

**Max: see u in health**

The nerd was about to type something back, but a certain girl burst into his room.

“Do you know when gym’s gonna start?” 

“Next week. Monday.” Neil blankly replied.

“So, will it be a weekly thing?” 

“Yes.”

Nikki nodded. “Sweet. Say, I was thinking,”

“Yeah?”

“Back at camp before things got all weird, we used to prank the heck out of David. I kind of want to prank him today in class.”

“Can’t.”

“What?”

“David’s not going to be here today.”

“Why not?”

Neil tried to hold back a smile. “Max pushed him down some stairs.”

The girl’s eyebrows furrowed. “Darn! He got him before I could!”

Neil put a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “If he’s back tomorrow,” he shrugged, “bite him.”

“Who? Max or David?”

Neil lightly smacked Nikki in the back of the head. “David.”

“Right. Obviously.” Nikki sheepishly smiled. 

**6:38 AM**

“It’s almost time to go. Are you ready?” Neil looked over to the girl.

“Yeah, think so. Meet you outside!” Nikki scurried out of her brother’s room and into her own. 

Neil put his bag on and quietly left the house. He approached the bus stop and stood by the other three kids. One girl with purple hair, one boy with white hair, and… a kid with blond- wait.

‘ _That’s the kid who pushed Max into the wall_ …’ Neil quickly averted his gaze when the boy looked up. ‘ _Better not tell Nikki_.’ 

In a few moments, Neil saw Nikki’s teal hair in the distance as she skipped to the bus stop.

“I was thinking- again,”

“You thinking is never a good thing.”

Nikki ignored Neil’s comment. “What if I prank the substitute instead?”

“Go ahead.” Neil hummed, hearing the bus in the distance. He had already learned that he couldn’t keep Nikki out of trouble. A frown etched onto Neil’s face when he realized Max was probably going to be the same way. 

The bus hadn’t even come to a full stop when the doors opened. The bus driver stared ahead at the road, not even acknowledging the kids as they passed by. As soon as the last kid was on the bus, he closed the doors and started to drive off. Neil slumped into his usual seat towards the back of the bus, Nikki opting to sit next to him. 

Just like every day of middle school, Neil took his earbuds out and put a random playlist on shuffle. The nerd leaned his forehead against the window as the beginning notes of “ _Circles_ ” filled his ears. 

As the school came into view, Neil turned his head to see Nikki silently sitting next him, fiddling with her thumbs. He took his earbuds out and lightly touched her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Nikki quickly nodded, a smile plastered on her face. “Just kind of worried about that pretest.”

Neil analyzed her face, not believing her for a second. “Okay.” He dragged the word out and put his earbuds back in, facing back towards the window. 

The bus pulled into the bus loop. Neil waited for all the other high schoolers on the bus to get off, then stood and got off himself. He looked ahead and saw Nikki talking to Dolph, her usual cheeriness had returned to her.

The group had already established that they were going to be spending the time before class in the hallway with the drama room. Well, more like Preston spammed the chat until everyone said yes. 

It felt awkward for Neil to just be standing there while everybody around him conversed. Neil decided to study the hallway. In display cases were trophies the band and sports teams had earned. Some art pieces were displayed, too. To be honest, the hallway was probably the most decorated in the school. The walls were painted, things hung from the ceiling, plenty of colorful trophies lined the walls, and posters of old plays were plastered around the doors to the drama room. 

The nerd eyed one of the things that hung from the ceiling. It was a tree branch with custom made ornaments. ‘ _Odd_.’ His eyes fell onto the floor below it. He noticed the floor was painted blue, yellow, and green. ‘ _Definitely the most… artistic part of the building_.’ 

Neil kept staring at the floor until a familiar red passed the hallway. 

‘ _Max_?’

Neil looked over to the others, quickly noting that nobody was really paying attention to him. The nerd slipped through the few people and walked out of the arts hall. He looked to his left and spotted the younger boy. ‘ _Definitely Max_.’ 

As he came closer, he saw that Max had his earbuds in. Neil was now walking to the left of the shorter boy. He waited a few moments to see if Max noticed him, but he didn’t seem to. Neil walked a little further ahead and heard a small gasp come from the Indian.

He fumbled with his earbuds. “You should’ve told me you were there!”

“Sorry,” Neil sheepishly smiled. “Uh, where are you heading?”

“I _was_ going to my first class, but now that you’re here, wanna go to the cafeteria?” 

“Sure.” Neil followed Max.

“Did your parents catch anything yesterday?” Max asked.

“No. Not that I know of.” Neil held onto his bookbag straps. “Then again, I haven’t seen Candy today. Whenever Nikki brought over some of her friends, Candy would instantly know she did. She’d point out how things were out of place and sometimes how things smelled different.”

Max snorted. “I bet I know how.” He said under his breath. 

Neil had heard it though, and couldn’t help but smile. “You’re probably not wrong.” 

A short silence fell between the boys. “So,” Max broke said silence. “Candy. Is she really settling for your dad?”

The nerd nodded. “Yeah, I think so. For the first year they were dating, I was always trying to find out if she was cheating. I know she got with him for money, but I swear, I think she’s actually falling for a guy like him.”

“Damn, Neil, way to talk about your dad.”

“He-! My dad…” Neil struggled for words. “He’s successful, but he’s a loser, y’know?”

“Define ‘loser’.” 

“He… he’s a guy who’s embarrassing! Annoying!” The taller boy racked his brain for more words. “You know how I’m a nerd? A kid who gets bullied for literally everything? That’s him. He is the epitome, if not somehow more so, of all the reasons I’m bullied.” Neil’s hands morphed back into their signature raptor hands. “If… if that makes sense?”

Max stayed quiet for a second. “It… it made a little sense… I think.”

“He’s the embodiment of embarrassing parents.”

Max pushed open the doors to the cafeteria. “Remember Parent’s Day?”

“ _God_ , of course. That’s when my dad and Candy met. They fucked on stage, Max. _They_ fucked _on stage_!” 

The Indian patted Neil’s shoulder. “Yeah, I know. But, uh, I was going to say,” He dragged Neil over to an empty table. “When Campbell made David and Gwen be my ‘parents’, I asked if it was too late to get adopted by somebody else.” He crossed his arms as he sat down. “Except yours. You looked miserable. So... I think I understand what you mean by embarrassing.”

The Jewish boy sat across from Max and opened up his own bookbag. “Sometimes I wish I lived with my mom.”

“Well, why don’t you?” Max seemed to catch his words. “Not to sound dickish.”

“Um… she… she can be a bit much sometimes. You know those… ‘sassy’, as Nikki puts it, moments I have? Or, had?” 

“Lemme guess, you get that from your mom?”

“Precisely.” Neil shot a finger gun at the younger boy. “And… well, sometimes she wasn’t the most supportive of things I did.”

Max adjusted his arms so that his head rested on his hand. He mumbled something, but Neil didn’t catch it. 

“Besides,” Neil set his math binder out. “If I chose to live with my mom, I’d be in Montana right now.”

“My parents were always talking about moving to LA.”

“LA?” Neil asked, trying to envision the scenario.

“Yeah. Imagine me, a Cali boy.” He fake gagged. “God, I’d kill myself before even stepping foot into that place. It’s like,” Max held his hands out, “as soon as you make eye contact with anybody, your ego just skyrockets. It skyrockets faster than the money counter when Quartermaster was beating the shit out of David and Gwen.”

“There was a kid I knew in 1st grade. He went to California for the summer and completely changed personalities.” Neil opened his binder up.

Max looked at Neil’s binder. “What’s that? Geometry?” 

“Yeah, actually. The guy gave us a fucking packet.”

“Oh shit,” Max leaned over the table, “damn, Neil Lowenthal, not doing his work.” He fell back into his seat. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“I’d rather spend time with you then do a dumbass packet.” 

“Wow, that was oh so very gay.”

Neil’s head shot up, his face red and eyes staring. 

Max burst out, laughing. “I’m kidding, Neil. I get what you mean. Spend a couple hours with a friend you haven’t seen in like three years, or do some lame… what, ten page packet?”

The nerd let out a shaky exhale. “Fourteen. A fourteen page packet full of work most of the other kids probably didn’t even know existed.”

Max opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the bell. “Well. See you in health.” He swung his bag over his shoulder.

Neil nodded, not bothering to put his math binder back. “Yeah… see you in health.”

* * *

Neil wasn’t the last in health this time, instead it was Nurf. 

“I got detention on the second day!” The redhead complained as he basically fell into his seat. 

“What’d you do?” Dolph inquired, setting a black sketchbook out.

“I took my knife out in class and then I threatened Mr. Grounds with it. The dumb principal said I was lucky to just be getting detention.” Nurf twirled a blade around on his desk, causing a few chips of the wood to pop out. 

“You should’ve totally stabbed him.” Ered smiled. “I would’ve.”

“I was about to!” Nurf tossed the knife into the air and caught it by the handle. “His class is so boring.” 

“Agreed.”

The bell rang again, a mere millisecond after the substitute walked in.

She looked to be a thin woman with short brown hair in a messy bob cut. Her mannerisms reminded Neil of Ered. She looked really young, too.

“I’m Flora Wilson, I’ll be your substitute teacher.” She sat down in the chair and set her legs on the desk. “Honestly, do whatever you want. You do nothing in health, anyway.” She whipped out a magazine.

Upon hearing this, Nikki immediately threw her hand up. 

“What?”

“Can we move seats?” 

Flora shrugged. “Knock yourself out.”

After hearing this, the kids started to move around. Nikki grabbed Neil’s hand and walked across the room to where Max was, Space Kid moved to sit next to Dolph, and Preston moved to sit next to Nurf. 

“So, Max,” Nikki sat in the seat in front of him, “what do you say we do a little mischief?”

Max seemed to look at Nikki. “I would, but she’s,” he pointed to Flora, “not a complete bitch. You can do what you want. Besides, I made a bet with my dad. Can’t get detention until next week.”

Nikki pouted and put on the best puppy dog look she could muster. 

Max sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fucking- god, _fine_. If you want to prank a teacher and avoid a trip to the principal’s office, follow me after class.”

A smile returned to Nikki’s face. “Sweet!”

Max turned to Neil. “You can come too, if you want.”

The nerd contemplated his options. Risk getting in trouble, but have fun, or stay out of it, and lose a possible moment with Max? He sat on it for what felt like hours, but in reality was probably a few seconds. “...yeah.” Neil saw as his stepsister's eyes lit up. “I’ll do it. I’m in.”

“Nice.” The Indian held his signature mischievous smirk.

“What will we be doing?” Nikki asked. “The classic air horn? Plastic wrap on the door? _Release birds in the classroom_??!”

“No, no, and why and how the hell would we do that?” Max opened his bag and pulled out a two-inch black binder. He opened it up and flipped to a page that was a map of the school.

Neil leaned over to view the contents. “How did you get this?”

“Convinced David to get me one. What, did you think I was going to go into a school blind? High school is some scary shit.” Max fixed his attention on the map. “Room 4. Ms. Combs’ room, right?”

Teal hair bobbed. 

“Room 19 is a supply closet. In there is probably a bunch of shit we could use. Saw the creepy janitor stuffing a helium tank in there earlier.”

“What are those red things?” Nikki pointed to small red lines that were more or less acute angles. 

“Cameras. This school has shit security. If you look, there are no cameras in the history hall besides the one just outside the library. Ms. Combs’ room is at the end of the hall.”

“Out of the camera’s view.” Neil said. 

“Mmhm. Closet is right across. Easy prank, in and out. Can’t get detention if you’re not caught.”

“What are you planning to do?” Neil asked.

“Well, since there might be a helium tank in the closet, I’m thinking we could do something with that. Maybe there’s balloons or… whatever else we could use with helium.” The Indian put his finger on the map. “David’s room is 83,” he dragged his index down the halls, “and we need to get to 4. After this class we turn here. The officer that usually stands there has lunch duty and the people in the office won’t be paying attention.”

“How do you know that?” Nikki tilted her head.

“Yeah…” Neil dragged it out. “It’s our second day of high school, ever. There’s no way you know how any of this works.”

Max didn’t utter a word as he flipped through pages of the binder. 

_Sandra Anea Combs_  
_Age: 42 - 10/11/76_  
_Room 4 - History 9_

_Block 1 - Melody Ackerman, Steven Altinok, Cassandra Alwin, Angela Ball, Trevor Beltran, Kendall Bivens, Benj Blackwell, Eurig Boone, Joanna Bryant, Nicole Coble, Priscelle Cortazzo, Marissa Duke, Lyric Faustine, Victor Heel, Aiko Hitomi, Cheyanne Huxtable, Hunter Oliva, Nena Opaline, Yvette Pugh, Kellan Slattery, Reagan Thweatt, Raelyn Warren, Thomas Weng, Carson West, Quentin Wheeler, Laurine Wilton, Aline Womack, Carol Woodcock_

_Block 2 - Zavia Alphen, Minerva Batista, Cindy Beek, Emmeline Brown, Lucky Dawson, Evangelina Dean, Elias Derby, Stan Fulton, Emily Germain, Amar Herberts, Hans Holland, Lizzie Homewood, Adrianna Klerx, Maki Koizumi, Lea Lee, Tex Lindon, Cassidy Mann, Conner Massey, Essie McCormick, Yuri Nakamura, Ophelia Odell, Alyssa Park, Maybelle Parker, Katrina Pey, Rosa Pocock, Lia Powell, Brian Reece, Ludivine Roscoe, Eliana Smit, Jaklin Sourd, Esther Steele, Hei Yang_

_Block 3 - Lunch_

_Block 4 - Ercole Barret, Rylee Bleck, Webster Bourne, Noah Bray, Alvin Buck, Primula Carmichael, Camryn Daniels, Kendrick Diop, Nerris Dunkelman, Joslyn Elmore, Celestine Freeman, Jason Hatton, Airamaya Jones, Norman Jones, Will Kelly, Fletcher Knowles, Willka Lane, Vivianne Long, Sierra Mackey, Nicolette Maxwell, Meredith Miller, Noelle Rhodes, Gordon Scott, Rosemarian Serna, Carlee Shaw, Ivy Underhill, Everleigh Waller, Charlene White, Caleb Wright_

He pointed at _Block 3 - Lunch_ , then flipped the page even further. 

_Abbi Rose Eruse_  
_Age: 37 - 6/7/82_  
_Room 13 - Main Office_

The black-haired boy skimmed the page and twisted the binder around, pointing at a line.

_Block 3 - Lunch Break_

“When touring the school I saw that Eruse has a couple camera screens on her desk. The guy who watches the cameras, Mr. Baurem, also has the third lunch break, plus like three of the cameras are kind of dead. At least, last I saw them. Like I said, the security is shit.”

“What if there aren't any balloons in the closet?” Nikki swung her legs in her seat.

“We improvise.” Max shrugged. “If all else fails we just tear up the classroom.”

“Ooh! Like a pack of ferels!” 

“Make it into Hell.” The Indian flipped back to the map. “You guys got it?” 

The siblings nodded. 

Neil fiddled with his hands. “What do we do after? Are we going to sit around or…?” 

“If you want to. I think Ms. Combs’ll have a good reaction. I guess we’ll just see how things play out.”

“What other stuff is in this thing?” Nikki grabbed the binder and turned it around so it was facing her. She landed on the page of Mr. Harper. “Preferred coffee… liked shows… families…- families? Wait,” She flipped the page, scanning Mr. Willows. “Oh! Where’s David’s page?!”

“Why do you want to see his page?” Max asked.

“I wanna know if his parents are trees! His family should be listed, right?” The girl started analyzing each page. 

“I- uh, I don’t think he has one.” The black-haired boy quickly took the binder back. “Or he took it out before he gave it to me,” he closed it, “something about blackmail. And _trees_? The fuck?” 

“We found a photo of David as a kid and he was on the branches of a tree! I’ve never seen human parents!” Nikki defended.

The Indian leaned back in his seat. “Anyway, anything interesting happen in any of your other classes?”

Nikki piped up. “The kid who got hit by the paint yesterday walked into class in a suit of paint cans today!”

* * *

The bell rang just as Neil finished his story about when Nerris basically owned the “D&D Master” in 7th grade.

“Ooh! Go time!” Nikki hopped up from her seat and ran out of the classroom with all the other kids. 

“She forgot her bookbag.” Max stated, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“I’ll get it.” Neil sauntered over to Nikki’s desk and lifted her bag. Max walked past him, keeping the door open.

“What’s taking so lo- _ohh_ , thanks!” The teal haired girl swiped her bag from her stepbrother. “Alright! Where’re we going?” 

Max pushed past his friends. At the end of the hall, he looked left and right. “Look, see him?” He pointed to a guard once Nikki and Neil caught up. “He’ll follow the crowd when it gets smaller.”

The three kids hung around the hallway for a while, only moving when the guard turned. 

“This hall.” Max grabbed Neil’s wrist, who in turn, grabbed Nikki’s wrist, and dragged the kids down a hallway. It wasn’t the same hall as the one that led to the rooftop, Neil noticed. 

Max let go once reaching the end. “It’s clear, I think.” He slinked around the corner, Neil and Nikki following. Suddenly, Max ducked down. 

“What is-” Nikki was cut off by Max slamming his hand over her mouth, a finger over his lips. 

Above them was a glass window that led into the nurse’s office. Max peeked over the edge, seemingly scanning the room. After a few moments, the boy stood and motioned for the other two to follow. 

The group reached the end of the hallway. “Alright,” Max put his hand on the doorknob to the janitor’s closet, “let’s see what this fucker has.” He opened the door and flipped the light on. 

“Jesus-” Neil looked around the room “it’s like Quartermaster all over again.” 

The shelves were lined with jars of unknown fluids and boxes of metal parts. Scattered around the floor were open crates, each containing different things. One was filled with clothes. Clothes that seemed kind of… lewd. Another had all sorts of sharp things. “Is this… contraband or something?” Neil looked over to a box of… _god_ , was that-? The box was soaked in a white substance and filled with latex. 

“Holy fucking shit, what the _FUCK_ is that?” Max came up behind the taller male, pointing to the box. 

“Let’s just… not- uh,” Neil took Max by the shoulders and turned him around, “let’s not look at that.” Max slowly nodded and moved away from Neil. 

Nikki skipped around the closet. “It’s a lot less interesting than his shop.” She examined a shelf. “Less weird stuff, more boring stuff- oh!” The girl hopped up, but couldn’t reach what she was trying to get. 

Neil stared at her before moving over to get it. He grabbed the plastic bag and looked down at its contents. “It… it’s balloons?”

“Perfect!” Max snatched the bag from Neil’s hands. “Damn, that’s a lot.” He went back over to the other side of the room. 

Neil observed as Max bent down and pulled a canister out. It was a helium tank. ‘ _Why does the janitor even have that?_ ’

“Okay,” Max set the tank down, a small clank echoing through the room. “We have balloons, we have a helium tank, and at least twenty minutes to set it all up.”

Nikki smiled widely as Max handed her the bag of balloons. “I…” he started, “have no idea how to work this.” He gave a gentle kick to the tank. 

“Uh… I might?” Neil offered. He turned to Nikki. “Give me one.” He was handed a red balloon. He crouched down and slid the balloon onto the nozzle. The brown-haired boy pressed down on the nozzle, causing helium to fill the latex. Neil let go, then tied it. 

Max was on the other side of the room, cautiously digging through a box of sewing material. “I found some string.” He showed a pack of string. “I can tie them.” He held his hand out to take the red balloon. 

Neil handed it off and watched as Max quickly tied the string around the end. He let go, letting the balloon travel up to the ceiling. 

Nikki excitedly threw a purple balloon at Neil. “Fill that one up too! C’mon! Let’s do this!” She was shaking with energy. 

The trio quickly went through as much as the bag as possible until they couldn’t fit anymore balloons in the closet. “Okay, uh, I think we need to move these.” Max placed the string down and started collecting the balloons. “Nikki, help me move these, yeah?”

After moving all of the balloons, they started working again. They got through the whole bag, just as they were about to run out of helium. 

“You haven’t seen it!” Nikki exclaimed, smiling at Neil. That was true. Neil hadn’t seen the classroom yet. 

After Max and Nikki let the last few balloons free to float about in the history class, they stepped out so Neil could view the interior. 

“Holy shit.” A smile worked its way up to Neil’s face. He couldn’t even see the ceiling, or even the wall. He could see the windows, but only because it was a bright day outside. 

“Can-” Nikki pulled Neil back so that both of the boys were facing her, “-we _please_ wait for Ms. Combs? I need to see her reaction!” 

“I’m down for it. What about you?” Max turned to Neil.

The Jewish boy nodded, a look of excitement painting his face. “It’s been so long since I’ve done something like this.”

Max took his phone out, looking for the time. “Alright, we have maybe about two min-” He shut himself up, his head quickly turning to the hallway behind him. 

The sounds of heels clicking the ground echoed in the halls. 

“Fu- go, go!” Max whisper-shouted as he started shoving the other two kids into the closet. He shut the classroom door, but left the closet door open. “Okay, uh, hide somewhere?” 

Neil shuffled behind a shelf, his head behind a box of metal parts. Nikki climbed up the shelf Neil was behind, all the way to the top. Max hid behind the door, after shutting the light off, able to see through the crack of the hinges. 

They all watched as a woman with slightly faded blonde hair stood in front of her class. A smile started creeping onto each of their faces. They watched Ms. Combs open her door. She took only a single step into it before exclaiming in surprise.

Ms. Combs walked into her classroom, staring incredulously at the sight around her. “What- who?” The trio tried to hold it together, but once a balloon string got tangled up in the woman’s hair, they let out a few snickers. Unfortunately, Ms. Combs had heard it.

After getting the black string out of her hair, she swiftly turned and walked out of the room, heading straight for the closet. The trio had shut up, now doing their best to stay quiet. 

Ms. Combs stood at the doorway, looking around. She didn’t see them, not with the light off. Her hand moved to switch on the light, which would’ve given Nikki right away. However, a man suddenly stood behind her, snatching her hand.

“What are you doing in my closet?” He asked. ‘ _Must be the janitor_.’ Neil thought. Seeing as Ms. Combs was distracted, Neil tapped on Nikki’s wrist, motioning for her to come down and stand next to him. “Nobody is supposed to be in here. No, no. Those are the rules” 

“Well,” A slight look of panic and fear was on the woman’s face. “Take a look inside of my classroom! Some little prankster is inside of your closet!”  


The man pushed her aside, looking around just as Ms. Combs had. He flipped the light on, but saw nothing. The janitor flipped the light back off. “Don’t see anything.” He ushered her out of the room, closing the door and leaving the trio in a dark silence.

“Holy shit.” Max whispered after a solid minute of silence. Neil heard a little bit of moving and assumed it was Max. 

A small light came through the room. Max had opened the door. He flicked the light back on. “They’re gone. For now, I think.” He took out his phone. “We have a minute until the bell rings.” 

Neil and Nikki lumbered out of their hiding spots. “Oh my god, I thought we were goners.” Neil said. 

“If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve been dead meat!” Nikki huffed. “That was fun!” She put her hands on her hips, standing proudly.

Max peeked out of the door again. “What do you think your class is gonna be doing?” 

“Maybe clean it up?” Nikki shrugged. “Or we’ll just have class with the balloons.”

“I’m gonna guess the former.” Neil joined Max in peeking out of the classroom. 

Max opened the door more. “I think we should head towards the library.”

“Why?” Nikki asked. 

“Makes it less suspicious that it was us.”

“Oh. That makes sense.”

* * *

**9:46 PM**

Neil laid in his bed, his phone lighting up his face. 

**Max: what happened with nikki’s class?**

**They had class in the library. Nikki said Ms. Combs didn’t seem to suspect her.**

**Max: great**

**Max: david emailed me earlier asking if we were the ones who did the balloon thing**

**What’d you say?**

**Max: no, obviously lol**

**Max: idk if he believed me**

**Max: get ready to lie ur ass off tmrw if he didn’t**

**What if he still doesn’t believe us?**

**Max: beat him with his own yardstick**

**He has a yardstick?**

**Max: when i first toured the school he had an apple on his desk**

**Max: a fucking apple**

**Max: he also had some of those inspirational posters on the walls**

**Max: i took them down**

**Do you still have them?**

**Max: yea**

**Max: i wanna burn them**

**We should. Maybe this Friday? You could come over like yesterday.**

**Max: sure**

**Max: shit**

**Max: gotta go to sleep**

**Max: see u tmrw**

Neil turned his phone off and smiled. He hooked his phone up to his charger, then stared out the window. He and Max had been texting for the past hour. Neil learned that Max knew how to play guitar, though it seemed Max let that slip out unintentionally since Max tried to deny it after. 

Candy had an old guitar that an ex of hers gave to her. She never used it. ‘ _I should get him to play that_.’ 

Neil turned so that he was on his back. He stared at the ceiling. 

The smile never left his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Circles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EQkYVtE-28  
> I am so happy this chapter is over with holy shit. I have not been keeping up with my work haha,,  
> I might start on Chapter 5 tomorrow,,  
> No relationship chart. It's basically the same thing as last chapter anyway.


	5. Firetrap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quality time.

**Fri, Sep 13, 8:51 PM**

**We’re grounded. :(**

**Max: what how**

**Candy saw the ashes.**

**Max: shit man**

**Max: for how long**

**All of next week. I have until 9 before I have to give up my phone. :,(**

**I don’t regret what we did though.**

**It was fun.**

**Max: you’ve said that a lot**

**Max: have u been deprived of mischief or smth?**

**I think I have, honestly. I’m not mischief creative, plus I would probably get caught.**

**Max: well after ur not grounded, i have some ideas**

**Max: stole mr. branson’s dumb sheet music**

**Max: no one wants to play it**

**Max: and we won’t play it**

**Max: because i took it**

**Max: and i’ll burn it**

**Candy and my dad have a dinner to go to Sunday. 4pm to 7pm. We could burn that too?**

**Max: see u then, then**

**Max: i’ll come around the back**

**Max: just in case they’re not gone**

**Okay. See you then.**

* * *

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit-” Max stared at the fire in front of him, the flames lighting his frame up, a smile quickly forming on his face. “This is _amazing_.” 

Sheet music curled, the white of the paper fading into black. “Add another log!” Nikki exclaimed. 

Neil picked up a thick chunk of wood and chucked it into the flames. 

The fire exploded before swiftly shrinking back to normal size. Soft crackles and pops filled the stunned silence. 

“Oh my god, this is even better than Friday!” Max rolled up a first trumpet part and tied a rock to it. “Loud motherfuckers!” He tossed it, marveling at the sight of paper being devoured in the flames. He turned to Neil. “Time?”

Neil pulled out his phone (which he stole back while his parents were gone). “5:21.”

Max huffed, then looked around. “We’re almost out of paper and it hasn’t even been that long.” 

Neil could see behind Max was Nikki holding a stick with a leaf on the end over the fire. An idea formed in Neil’s head.

“What if… we do a campfire?” Nikki and Max both perked up at the suggestion. “In the back of the cabinet is a bag of jumbo marshmallows from a hiking trip that never happened and there’s plenty of sticks around.”

“I like that!” Nikki shook the stick she was holding, ridding the flame, and prepared to run inside to grab the marshmallows. 

“Hey,” Neil called to her before she could go inside, “let me get them.”

“Uh, okay?!” Nikki was about to retreat from the back door and join Max by the fire, but she stopped. “Oh, wait, isn’t there a sitting log in the shed?”

“Yeah, I think so?”

“You get the marshmallows, I’ll get the logs?” Nikki suggested. 

“...yeah, sure.” The siblings both entered the house, with Nikki coming back out shortly after grabbing the shed key.

Neil, on the other hand, didn’t go straight to the cabinet. Instead, he ran up the stairs to his parent’s room. He glanced around the room, rushing to the closet after affirming the thing he was looking for wasn’t in plain sight. Not even bothering to flip on the light, his hands blindly searched around until he found it. 

A smile on his face, Neil rushed down the stairs and set the object down. He opened the cabinet and grabbed the bag of marshmallows. He picked the object up again and moved it to the back door, setting it down again. 

“There you are!” Nikki exclaimed. Both she and Max were sitting on a single trunk Nikki had brought out of the shed. “What took so long?”

Neil tossed the bag to his stepsister and watched as she opened it. “Sorry, had to go get something else.” 

“What’d you get?” Max asked, taking a marshmallow from Nikki.

Neil responded by running back over to the back door. “It’s a little old but…” When Neil came back out, in his hands was an intact acoustic guitar. 

If Neil could read Max’s expression, he’d probably say that the shorter boy’s eyes narrowed. “No.” He immediately stated. “No way.”

“Aw, c’mon!” Neil held the instrument by the neck. He looked over to his stepsister, the gears seemingly clicking together. 

She gasped dramatically. “You can play guitar??!” She leaned close to Max. “You gotta play! You have to!” 

Max groaned. “No!” He scooted away. “Fuck off!”

“ _Max_!!” Nikki grabbed his arm, shaking him back and forth. “ _Please_?” 

“Yeah, Max,” Neil sat on the opposite side of said boy, “What, is it too embarrassing?” 

Max seemed to stare at the nerd. His cheeks puffed up before reaching out to take the guitar. “For fucks fucking motherfuckering sake. _Fine_.” 

“Yay!” Nikki cheered, throwing her hands on the air. 

Max held the guitar, propped it against him, then strummed it. It was horribly out of tune. “How old is this?” He started tuning it.

“It’s Candy’s. She had it before she got with my dad.”

“Suddenly, I don’t want to touch this.” 

“She’s never used it before.” Nikki piped in. “Her... sixth? ...yeah, sixth- sixth ex before Carl gave it to her. Something to remember him by… I guess. Real country guy.” 

“You can have it…” Neil took Max’s marshmallow. “She’s never gonna use it.”

“I already have one. Looks almost exactly like this.” Max turned the last tuning key, satisfied with the sound. “I have a few, actually.” 

“Oh.” 

Max quietly played a scale, his fingers barely touching the strings. “I think it’s good.” 

Neil leaned back. “So… what are you going to play?” 

Max shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Nikki raised her hand. “Can you play the Camp Campbell Song Song? The one David played for us?” 

“...fine. But I’m not singing.” 

Nikki giggled. “That’s fine. Me ‘n Neil are gonna sing it!”

Neil stared at her. “What? No, I-”

“Aw, why not?” Max teased. “Too _embarrassing_?” 

Neil rolled his eyes, a smile still on his face. “I…” He sighed. “Okay. But don’t make me pay the medical bills when your ears break.”

“I wouldn’t be worried about my ears. I’ll bash your skull in before you can ruin them.” The Indian swung the guitar over his shoulder, causing Neil to flinch. 

“Yeah, yeah, alright, okay-” 

Max snickered, setting the guitar back into his lap. “Anyway,” His fingers hovered over the fretboard. 

* * *

Neil pulled his phone out. “It’s 6:30. Maybe we should start cleaning up.” 

Nikki pouted. “Noooo,” she dragged the word out, “why couldn't their dinner last until like… 9 or something??” 

Max set the guitar down. “I’m glad it ends at 7.” He stood and stretched. “Since, well, I’m not supposed to be here.” 

“What?” Neil cocked his head.

“Mom’s at a meeting and dad was asleep when I left. Mom’s supposed to be getting back at 8. I’m toast if I’m not at home when she’s back. Then again dad could be awake…” Max put a finger to his chin. “Eh. He’s easier to deal with.” He shrugged and turned to the fire. “We should bury it. Rid the evidence”

Nikki’s face lit up. “Yes! I’ll get the shovels!” 

“She uses shovels?” Max watched as the girl struggled to get the shed doors open. 

Neil stood beside Max. “I’m just as surprised as you are.”

The shorter boy looked up at Neil. “I guess things change, huh?” A tiny smirk laced his lips. 

“Guess so.” The nerd clasped his hands together, his eyes landing on the discarded guitar. “That was really good.”

“What?”

“The guitar. It… you- uh, you sounded… really… uh, nice.”

“Oh.” Max rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks. I… don’t really play in front of people. Not the guitar, anyway.”

“Really? What do you play in your band class, then?”

“Fuckin’ violin. First year and I’ve already been declared the ‘king of the viola’. Shit’s not even the same thing.” Max took out a piece of paper from his hoodie pocket. “We did a signing paper thing in class on Friday. Fuckin’ stupid ass messages.” He handed it off to Neil.

Neil took it and unraveled it. 

‘ _King of Viola!’ -Matthew Shaw_

‘ _You’re literally the best. Seriously, everyone else sucks.’ -Kiana Weis_

‘ _You’re hot. 503-234-6531’ -Janise Jackson_

Neil noted the one from Janise had a red line marked through it. “‘You’re hot’?” Neil tried to hold back a snicker. 

“Chick’s a hoe. She wears, like, single socks as tops and over-the-top makeup. I legit saw her walk out of the bathroom with a line of fucking cum rolling down her legs and a piss poor attempt at hiding hickeys with makeup. Sorry, King’s not interested in a dumpster.” 

“Ew.” Neil commented, a small snicker sneaking into his response, turning his attention back to the paper.

‘ _Your skills. Give me your skills!’ -Hayden Iceland_

‘ _You’re really good. Welcome to band <3.’ -Maybelle Parker_

“Y’know,” Neil placed his elbow on Max’s shoulder. “I wanna hear you on a violin now.”

“Oh, fuck you.” Max stuck his tongue out. 

“There’s a concert in December, right? Bet, I’ll be there.” 

“That’s like, three months away, dipshit.”

Both boys snapped their attention to the sound of Nikki’s triumph as she finally got the shed open. 

“...how’s she?” Max quietly said.

“Nik? She’s fine. Why do you ask?”

“No, no, I mean… how is she _now_? As in, has she changed from when I saw her last? Er, since camp?”

“Oh. She’s relatively the same. Toned down a bit, but… still adventurous… sure you could tell from the past week…” he brought his voice to a whisper, “she totally has a thing for Ered.”

“Still?” Max observed the girl carry a single shovel from the small shack. 

“Almost positive. She was looking for pink, which is Ered’s favorite color, dresses for the 8th grade dance. Nikki hates pink.” Neil hummed. He turned around, looking down at the trunk. “I guess we should move this, huh?”

“Yeah.” Max moved to one end of the log as Neil moved to the other. They lifted it, carefully moving it to shed. “Why do you guys have a giant ass log, anyway?”

Neil shrugged. “Something Nikki’s dad gave her. According to her, it was infested with bugs and ‘treasures’. She doesn’t see her dad a lot so I like to think it means a lot to her.” They slowly lifted it down.

Nikki spotted the boys. “I finished the… music grave! ...After putting out the fire, that is.” There was a little bit of soot on her arms and face. 

Neil walked over to her and took the shovel. “You should probably go shower before they get back.”

“I guess so.” Nikki trotted over to the back door. “You’ll probably be gone by the time I’m out… uh, it was really fun! See you tomorrow, Max!” She went inside. 

Max waved even though Nikki didn’t see it.

Neil watched as Max pulled out his phone to observe the time. He caught a glimpse of his lockscreen. “Wait, what was that?”

“What was what?” He shoved his device in his pocket.

“The picture.”

“What picture?”

“Your lockscreen, dumbass.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Really? ‘Cause, I don’t know, it looked kind of like us as kids.”

Max’s mouth opened, as if to say something. But then he quickly shut it, making a frustrated sound. He pulled his phone back out, making it face Neil.

Yeah, Neil was right. It was a picture of Max, Neil, and Nikki. Judging from how Neil was holding a bunch of arnicas, Nikki was holding some alyssums, and Max harebells, the photo had to have been taken on the last day of camp. David and Gwen went to the local floral shop to buy flowers for everyone as a goodbye gift. Though, they probably knew most of the kids wouldn’t keep them alive.

Neil did. He liked his arnicas. They were right next to the front door. 

The photo was taken from a distance, as none of the kids were facing the camera, plus they were a little ways away, looking off of a cliff.

His guess was David or Gwen took the photo. Or Dolph. It was too good of a photo to’ve been done by anybody else at that age.

“6:52.” Max mumbled. “I really need to get going.”

“Oh. Well- wait, don’t you live, like, across the city?”

Max shrugged. “If I run, I might make it.”

“Yeah, you’re not going to make it. You’re one of the slowest people I know.”

Max jumped up onto Neil’s fence. “Hey, I’ve gotten faster. Things, change, y’know?” 

Neil couldn’t argue there.

“Anyway, see you tomorrow, loser.” He did a quick peace sign before hopping off the fence. Neil peeked over the fence, but found that he couldn’t see or hear Max despite the kid just leaving. 

The nerd looked back to the backyard. The only thing in it was the guitar.

Neil took it and went upstairs. He planted it in his own closet, being careful not to knock down anything else.

A few years ago, his closet would’ve been full of sciency stuff. Test tubes would line the wall, shelves would be stocked. At the bottom of the shelves would be volumetric flasks, that way they wouldn’t topple over and shatter. In the middle would be the florence flasks, placed with near perfect distance of each other. Then at the top would be the erlenmeyer flasks. In Neil’s opinion, they were the hardest to break due to the flat bottom. And there’s the fact that Neil was tall and he used the erlenmeyer flask the most.

That wasn’t what Neil’s closet looked like, anymore. Instead there were photos in frames on the wall, creating a collage. Almost all of them had a teal-haired girl, a black-haired boy, and a brown-haired boy. On one side of his closet were all his clothes, on the other side was a 3x3 black cubby shelf. In the center were two dolls. One of Neil.

One of Max.

At first glance, it may seem weird that he had a doll of his friend. Okay, even at second and even third glance it’d be weird. But, like everything else, there was a story.

_“These are amazing, Max!” Nikki exclaimed as the three kids sat in the Mess Hall_. 

_Max slumped in his seat. “I guess.”_

_It was the last Monday of camp. The second day of the last week._

_“They are pretty good.” Neil commented, moving his doll’s arm up and down._

_“...thank you.”_

_Nikki gasped. “How come he gets a thank you and I don’t?!”_

_Max closed his eyes. “It was meant for both of you.” He let out a quiet sigh._

_Neil turned to his friend. “You okay?”_

_“Yeah. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.” He yawned as if on cue._

_Neil frowned. “You didn’t stay up all night making these, did you?”_

_Max shrugged. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and placed them on his lap._

_“Woah, woah,” Neil grabbed Max’s hands. “Holy shit, what happened?!” His hands were covered in little cuts and marks._

_“Poked myself a little.”_

_“A little?!”_

_“Poked myself.”_

Neil took hold of the Max doll. 

_“Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?” Neil asked as he watched Max toss his doll into an empty trashcan._

_“Getting rid of things I can’t take.” He mumbled._

_“Can’t take?”_

_“Not supposed to come back with anything I didn’t bring.”_

_Neil looked down at the can. “Well, I’m not letting you put it in there.” He walked over to the trash and lifted the doll out. “I’ll take it with me. Once everyone goes back home, I could just give it to you.”_

_“I…” Max looked unsure. “...maybe.”_

“Maybe.” Neil whispered. Him giving the doll back never actually happened. He’d texted Max after camp about the doll and Max simply told him it wasn’t the right time. Whenever Neil asked about when would be the right time, Max avoided the question. He avoided phone calls, video chats, even the offers to meet up in real life. 

Eventually he disappeared all together.

Neil stared at the doll. It had green buttons for eyes. Dark green, not like the vibrant jade color Max sported. It wore a blue hoodie. The hoodie itself was something Max knitted. Neil had watched him fumble around with the blue string one night, muttering swears under his breath every time he pricked his finger. The legs were covered with (now faded) blue jeans that were tucked into little red and white shoes. The shoelaces were tightly tied, basically in an irreversible knot. The texture of the “skin” of the doll was smooth. That was something accurate to the real Max. The hair was soft and curly, too. Another accuracy. 

Max is here now. He could give the doll back like he said he would.

...why didn’t he want to? 

* * *

“I should’ve killed him when I had the chance.” Max mumbled, throwing his bag over his shoulder.

“If you did, we wouldn’t have the same health class.” Neil said as they exited David’s class. The kids had learned that David had actually pulled strings to get the ex-campers together.

“Maybe it should’ve been that way.” 

“What?”

“You see those looks Nerris gives me, right? In terms of people who hate me, she’s probably third on the list.”

Neil cocked his head. “Who’s the first two?”

“Not important.” Max pulled Neil into the hall to the fire escape. 

Neil’s phone buzzed. 

**Mon, Sep 16th, 11:41 AM**

**Ikk: Pietro is a goddess**

**Ikk: Yall just bein chubs**

Max read the text over Neil’s shoulder. “Pietro?”

“Her favorite Animal Crossing character. She said if Pietro‘s not in the new Animal Crossing game, she’d sue Nintendo.”

“Shit, if Coco isn’t in the new game, I’d sue Nintendo too.”

Neil sighed, albeit a smile was on his lips. “Oh my god.”

“Anyway, how’d last night go? Any prolonged groundings?”

“Nah.” Neil shook his head. “Actually, since Nikki didn’t get a behavior warning last week, my dad and Candy agreed, with a _little_ convincing and puppy dog eyes on Nikki’s part, that she could have a friend over this Friday.”

They made it to the roof. “Does she usually get behavior notices?”

“Yeah. She needs to do one wild child thing a day or she loses it at the end of it.” Neil watched Max put his belongings, as well as himself, down.

Max leaned back, his back against the school roof. “Are you implying that I’m her savior?”

“In a way, yes.” Neil put his own things next to Max’s. He sat. 

Max stared at the sky, or, that’s what Neil assumed. He could’ve had his eyes closed. They sat there in silence for a few moments.

“You ever…” Max suddenly said. “You ever wonder what would happen if your life were different?”

“What?”

“Like… if you didn’t do this one thing, how would that affect your life?” Max put his hands on his chest. “What if you never went to camp? Would you even be here? Or would you be with your mom over in Montana?”

Neil sat on the question. “Well…” He turned to Max. “Probably.”

“...” Max shifted his head, possibly looking at Neil.

“What about you? What if you never went to camp?”

The black-haired boy looked back to the sky, a dark laugh leaving his throat. “It doesn’t matter- _I_ don’t matter.” Max seemed taken aback by his own words.

Neil instantly perked up at this, his mouth opening to protest, but no words came out.

Max sat up suddenly. “I- sorry, that... that slipped out. Got kind of depressing there.” He turned his body to Neil. “In other news… do you have any friends outside of the camp?”

Neil fiddled with his thumbs. “Not… really? I mean, I started talking to this girl in Math. Hazel.”

“Makes one of us.” Max crossed his arms and legs. “I have never had ‘friends’ in school. Like, ever.”

“Oh.” Neil frowned.

“Don’t give me that face. It’s how I want it to be. People suck. You guys… don’t suck.”

“Sooo… are we not people?”

Max smiled a little. “No, you’re pawns, at best, in my chess game known as life.”

“You hate chess.”

“I hate life.” The Indian shrugged.

“Don’t say that.”

“Silence a guy for speaking the truth, wow, okay.” Max leaned back down again. “Lay with me.”

Neil set his back down flat. 

“Close your fucking eyes, twat.”

So he did. Laying here with Max… it reminded him of-

“Remember when we’d sneak off to that cliff edge?” It was almost as if Max read his mind.

“Of course.”

“We found another platypus out there.”

Neil snickered. “It almost bit you.”

“Almost.” Max hummed.

“Do you remember the deer?”

A smile suddenly came to Max’s lips. “Oh my god, the deer! It was so soft!” 

“Then it followed you to camp.”

“And Nikki told me I was an animal whisperer, like her.”

_“What the fuck is that?” Gwen yelled as she approached the camper’s tents. The kids were observing it, no one really approaching. Though, it seemed to be staring at Max._

_“It’s a deer.” Max deadpanned._

_“It’s really cute!” Nikki exclaimed, running up to it. The deer shrank back, scared. Nikki frowned. “Mm… I don’t really know deer…”_

_“I don’t think that matters when you’re running up at her, shouting.” Max snapped._

_Gwen sighed, clearly annoyed. “Just… leave it alone, for now. It’ll leave eventually.”_

_There was a chorus of disappointment that followed._

_“You shouldn’t even touch deer.” Neil elbowed Max, who shot him a glare. “It’s not safe for both the deer and the person.”_

_“Bitch, you-” Max was cut off when the deer nuzzled it’s head into Max’s. His face softened as his hands moved to gently pet it._

_“Max!” Neil hissed._

_“Fuck off, she likes me. Let me enjoy this.”_

Neil turned on his side, facing Max. “The waterfall.” 

Max turned on his side too. “The waterfall.” He echoed.

“David almost caught us.” Neil stared directly at where Max’s eyes probably were. “Multiple times.”

“He never did, though.”

“We never finished the swimming lessons.” 

“Shut the fuck up.”

Neil grabbed Max’s wrist and playfully shook it around. “Have you swam at all?”

“Yeah,” Max shrugged. “I can swim now.”

“Good for you.” A warm smile appeared on the nerd’s face.

Max snickered, a quiet snort following. “Good for me.” 

Neil sighed, letting go of Max’s wrist. “I don’t want to go back to class.”

“You and me both.”

Neil put both his hands under his head. “Oh, about that thing with Nikki, she wants _you_ to come over Friday.”

__

“Oh?”

__

“Yeah. And it’d be a sleepover.”

__

“I’ll have to ask, but it’ll probably be a yes.”

__

Neil smiled. “Just know once Nikki knows you accepted, she’s not gonna shut up about it until it happens.”

__

“I can live with that.”

* * *

__

“First real day of being grounded.” Neil sighed, walking out of the school building with Max and Nikki. They decided to just walk home everyday instead of taking the bus. It was just easier. Max would usually leave them at the crosswalk, heading back inside the building. Neil didn’t know why, and Max wouldn’t tell him.

__

“Won’t your parents be gone until seven?” Max asked.

__

“Candy switched to night shifts for the week.”

__

“Ouch.”

__

Nikki skipped next to the two boys. “I’m glad they agreed to Friday.”

__

“‘Agreed’.” Neil put his fingers in quotations. 

__

Nikki scoffed. “Uh, _yeah_.” 

__

“Oh my god, you act like siblings.” 

__

“‘Cause we are!” Nikki wrapped an arm around Neil. “He’s the best, and _only_ brother I’ve ever had!”

__

“I miss being an only child.”

__

Max shrugged. “I’ll help you hide the body if you kill her.”

__

“I might.”

__

Nikki giggled. “I think I’d kill you first.” She bared her teeth. “I am a ferocious beast, remember?” 

__

“Didn’t say I’d kill you using my weak ass hands. I’d poison you faster than you could say polyphiloprogenitive.” 

__

“Poly- what?”

__

“How the fuck do you know that?” Max asked, slightly bewildered. “You know what? I shouldn’t be surprised. You could probably recite the whole dictionary.”

__

“Depends on which one you’re talking about.” Neil hummed. “There’s ‘a’, ‘abacus’, ‘abalone’, ‘abandon’, ‘aba-’”

__

“Jesus fuck did you actually memorize the fucking dictionary?”

__

“The first few. I don’t remember what’s after ‘administrator’.”

__

“God, you’re a nerd.”

__

Nikki tilted her head in confusion. “I thought we already knew that?” 

__

The boys looked at each other, both sharing the same thought. ‘ _Same old Nikki_.’

* * *

Friday came around faster than previously thought. Nikki spent her time in the backyard, trying to find little treasures that were buried. She had found a few and asked Neil to analyze them. When he wasn’t caught up in Nikki’s activities, Neil found himself looking through his closet and sleeping. 

__

“Nikki?” Neil asked, sitting at his desk. The girl was sitting next to him in her own desk chair that she had brought over from her room. Nikki was drawing little doodles and messily colored them with markers.

__

“Mmhm?”

__

“Did you tell Candy and dad that it’s Max that’s coming over?”

__

“...” Nikki dropped the marker she was holding. “I… actually, I don’t think I did.”

__

“They probably think it’s Ered.”

__

Nikki rolled away from the desk. “I’ll go tell them. Don’t want them wasting coffee…” 

__

Ered would typically come over whenever Nikki had a sleepover. It used to be Nerris, but then she started dating Harrison. Not that Nikki minded. Neil had let Nikki rant to him when she needed to, and she did the same to him. The last month of 7th grade, Nikki had started to get tired of Nerris' endless pining. She began pushing the two to talk to each other, knowing that Harrison liked Nerris back. Nikki cheered for weeks after they got together. It meant no more pining. 

__

Plus, Ered could start coming over instead. And Ered was single. And so was Nikki. And Nikki liked Ered. It was a win-win. 

__

Neil watched his stepsister leave. After a few minutes of Nikki not returning, he reached over and pulled open his desk drawer. To the normal viewer, it just seemed like a lot of books. That was true, for the most part. Squeezed between ‘ _Restart_ ’ and ‘ _Pax_ ’ was a journal book with a leather cover. This was Neil’s first diary. He started it a month before camp began. 

__

He kept looking through the books, finally finding his second diary sandwiched between ‘ _The Secret Garden_ ’ and ‘ _Posted_ ’. This one documented everything that happened while Max was gone. How everyone felt, theories on what had happened, and, oh, right. There were a few pages where Neil had written out a bunch of “suspicious” things about Max. He flipped through it, landing on the second page of the list. 

__

_-Never really talked about his home life_  
_-Wasn’t confident his parents were going to show up (Parents’ Day)_  
_-Ditched us for ice cream_  
_-Doesn’t like parties(?)_  
_-Didn’t want friends_  
_-Called us “temporary friends”_

__

Neil remembered stressing over these pages day after day. He desperately wanted to know what had happened. The others eventually got him to stop worrying so much about it. That didn’t mean that he stopped completely, though. Nikki added a few things to the list, but it was nothing Neil didn’t know, just things he forgot. He asked the others, but they just said the same thing he’d already heard.

__

“They know now.” Nikki strolled in, hopping back into her chair. “What's that?” She peered over. “Is that that list you made about Max?” 

__

“Yeah.” Neil moved the book so Nikki could see. “Just… looking over it.”

__

“Why?”

__

Neil shrugged. “I guess I still want to know?” He saw Nikki’s confused expression. “He was gone for three years, Nik. Don’t you want to know what happened? Like, at all?”

__

“I mean…” Nikki slumped back in her chair. “Of course. But… I’m just glad he’s here. We…” She huffed. “We might not know what happened for years. We might... _never_ know. Or…” She looked Neil in the eyes, her face a little nervous. “It might’ve just been what Max said. He was homeschooled, phone broke, and wasn’t allowed to go back to camp.”

__

A thought crossed Neil’s mind. “But David knew.” Nikki looked up at him, her brows furrowing at the fact. “Max said David was supposed to tell us what happened over the last three years. He knew Max was homeschooled. He knew Max was attending this school. He knew _we_ were attending this school. He never said anything.”

__

Neil continued. “And… and don’t you think it’s a little weird? There… there’s something different about how Max acts around David? Maybe it’s because he’s matured or he just hates David a little less but-” 

__

The doorbell rang. 

__

Nikki hopped up to go greet Max, but Neil stopped her. “Help me clean up.”

__

“Oh.” Nikki shuffled her drawings together as Neil opened his drawer, hiding the diary once more. 

__

Just as they finished cleaning up the desk, Max walked into the room.

__

“I’m here, bitches.”

__

Nikki smiled, throwing her arms around him. “This is going to be so much fun!” She pulled back, hands on his shoulders. “I have full access to my mom’s makeup kit!”

__

“...you don’t like makeup?”

__

“I don’t. But I like nail polish.”

__

“...I’m leaving.”

__

Max turned around, but Nikki swiftly grabbed his hood. “No. No you’re not.” She held his arm so he couldn’t move. “I have been dreaming of painting your nails ever since my mom got the blue galaxy color.” She lifted Max’s hand. “Your nails are perfect!” Her eyes sparked. 

__

Max’s lips tightened, embarrassed. “I am regretting all life choices.”

“Welcome to my life.” Neil huffed, sitting back down in his spinny chair.

* * *

__

**Fri, Sep 20, 11:01 PM**

__

**Preston: IK its late**

__

**Preston: But I cant sit on this anymore**

__

**Preston: Could u by any chance meet me outside of the park**

__

**It’s 11 at night?**

__

**Preston: Ik but I REALLY need to talk 2 u**

__

**Preston: More like GIVE smth to u**

__

**Preston: I was gonna wait until Mon but I cant**

__

**Can’t you wait until tomorrow?**

__

**Preston: No I cant**

__

**Preston: I have to help mom at the hospital**

__

**Right.**

__

**What’s so important that you need to meet me this late?**

__

**Preston: I may or may not have stolen smth from the hospital**

__

**Preston: Smth I think u would want**

__

**You stole from the hospital?**

__

**Preston: JUST COME TO THE PARK IM FREEZING MY ASS OFF**

__

Neil sighed, putting his phone down. Max and Nikki were both asleep on Neil’s bed, with Nikki on the left side of the bed, Neil on the right, and Max in between them. Neil rolled out of his bed, his feet touching the cold floor. 

__

He didn’t even bother changing. He threw on a black jacket, threw his phone in his pocket, and headed down the stairs. Next to the door were a few pairs of slippers. He knew Candy would wake up at 12 to smoke, so he couldn’t risk taking the comfortable shoes. He opened up the shoe closet and took an old, now worn down, pair or brown slippers and threw them on. 

__

The brown-haired boy unlocked the back door and slipped out. ‘ _Whatever it is that Preston wants to give me, it better be fucking important_.’ 

__

Neil carefully hopped the fence and started towards the park. He made it there twenty minutes later. He spotted Preston standing under a tree.

__

“Okay, what is this about?” Preston jumped, startled by Neil’s sudden appearance.

__

“Right. Sorry for making you come out here so late.” Preston sheepishly smiled. “Um, so… earlier today I was with my mom at the hospital, you know how it is. There was this girl, Mavis Jones, right?” Neil nodded. “I had to go get her medical files, same old thing. Only… usually the file cabinets are labeled something like Bi to Bo or Ry to S.”

__

Neil frowned. ‘ _What’s he getting at_?’ 

__

“Max’s name is Max Jones, right?” 

__

“...yes?”

__

“What’s his full name?”

__

“His full na-?”

__

“ _What’s his full name_ , Neil?”

__

“...I think it was Maximus? Why?”

__

Preston took a shaky breath. “He’s Indian, yeah?”

__

“Yes? What are you-?”

__

Preston suddenly held out five files, all labeled “Maximus T. Jones”.

__

“There was a file cabinet that had his name on it. His name. There were so many more in there.”

__

Neil’s hands moved to take the folders. He opened the first one up. His eyes scanned the page, pausing when they passed why he was in the hospital. 

__

_Deep scars on back._

__

_Round crescent-like marks in skin._

__

_Unconscious for three hours._

__

He opened another. 

__

_Bruises on arms._

__

_Bruises on neck._

__

Another.

__

_Underweight._

__

_Bruises around stomach area._

__

Neil looked back up at Preston.

__

Preston shifted uncomfortably. “...I… I think there’s something wrong with Max.”

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the beginning of a poorly written plot :,)  
> I think I'm gonna do a RC only when there's a _huge_ change  
> Uh, also, I update my profile with story stuff I'm doing so if you're ever curious about the progression of the next chapter you can look at that ig


	6. Unearthed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things are discovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't like this chapter. Like, _really_ dislike this. So, uh, huge delay on this chapter, I know. I never understood the phrase "I hate finals" until now. Originally, the chapter was gonna a shit ton longer but I decided to cut that part off and morph it into the next chapter. Also, I lied. [_This_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-z-vC31BWI) is the theme of the story, lmao.

Neil stared at the files before him. “I… what the _fuck_?” 

Preston held himself. “When I first saw them, I thought that maybe, just maybe it wasn’t the kid I knew. But…” He walked over to Neil, pointing to a date. 

_6/18/17_

“Neil…” Preston solemnly sighed. 

“...we were in camp.” Neil checked the other dates.

 _7/24/17_  
_8/1/17_  
_2/12/18_  
_3/4/18_

“ _We were in camp_.” Neil repeated. ‘ _And he wasn’t_.’

“I feel awful.” Preston admitted. “I really thought that Max just left us like _that_ but…” He met Neil’s eyes. “You were right.”

“I- what?”

“You said something was wrong. We didn’t believe you.”

Neil shook his head. “That- that doesn’t matter right now.” He closed the file. “You said there were more?”

The theatre kid nodded. “Tons.”

“Could-” Neil looked around, as if someone was listening. “Could you get more?”

“Y-Yeah. Yeah, I… I’ll try to nab some more. But, um,” Preston nervously played with a strand of hair. “Could you look over them? In detail? I know you like to research and you’re smart… plus, I think you wanted to know more than anyone.”

Neil held the files to his chest. “I won’t be able to look at them until maybe tomorrow night.”

“Why not?”

“Max is actually over at my house tonight.”

“Oh.” Preston’s eyes widened. “ _Oh_.”

Neil realized what Preston was thinking. The theatre kid always thought like that. His face turned red. “Nikki wanted him over for a sleepover!”

Preston slowly nodded, the smile on his face slowly fading away. “Right… uh, hey, I know you’ve been hanging out with him a lot. Is… there anything, like, off with him?”

Neil thought back to his interactions. “I’ve tried to ask him about the last three years, but he deflects and refuses to open up.”

Preston held a sad smile. “Sounds like Max.” He looked at his phone. “I could get you new files tomorrow night. Maybe around ten? I’ll text you if I do.”

“Okay.” Neil shakily nodded. “See you possibly tomorrow?”

“Yeah...” Preston disappeared under the darkness. Neil listened as the leaf crunches got softer and Preston’s silhouette faded. It reminded him of when Max hopped over the fence. Only, Neil didn’t see or hear him when he departed.

‘ _What the hell is your home life like, Max_?’

Neil turned around, his mind suddenly running wild. 

“ _It doesn’t matter- I don’t matter_.”

Neil passed a diner. It was closed and nobody was inside. That’s where Candy worked.

_“Don’t give me that face. It’s how I want it to be. People suck. You guys… don’t suck.”_

Passed a library. That was open. It was always open. Neil loved to go there.

_“I hate life.”_

Neil didn’t know when he started running. He didn’t know why he felt scared. 

_He felt so fucking scared._

Neil’s legs moved faster when images of a bruised and bloody boy infiltrated his thoughts. He knew. He knew Max should- no, _would_ be fine. Nikki would never hurt him. His dad would never hurt him. Candy would never hurt him.

But how could he be sure that Max wouldn’t hurt himself?

That haunted the back of Neil’s mind. 

His house came into view. Without much caution, he hopped over the fence, just barely missing getting caught by the posts. Neil slid into the house, running up the stairs without a second thought. He paused in front of his own door, catching his breath and making one last attempt to calm himself down. 

His hand froze on the doorknob. He heard someone move. It wasn’t like someone moving in the bed, someone was up, moving around his room. 

Neil closed his eyes and slipped the files under his arm, taking another breath, then he turned the knob and…

...

Max was sitting against the window, not seemingly noticing Neil. He had his earbuds in. 

Neil took notice of what Max was wearing. Max had expressed earlier that night (yesterday? It _was_ past midnight.) that he was planning on sleeping in his hoodie and some pajama pants he brought. Nikki told him she wouldn’t allow him to, remembering how often Max complained back at camp whenever he dozed off in the blue hoodie he used to wear. Neil hadn’t been paying attention when Max changed, as he was on his phone.

 _‘Local shop owner accused of abuse by putting employees in mascot suits’ Curiously, Neil tapped on the article. He read through half of it before a hand snatched the device away_.

 _“Hey-!” Neil froze as cold air hit his arms. He looked over to see Max climbing into the bed_. 

_“Fuckin’ asshole, not paying attention.” Max dropped the phone into Neil’s lap_. 

_“What?”_

_“Nothing. Too late now.”_

_Neil frowned, looking back to the article. He had read just a bit more when he felt a warm presence. He glanced over to see Max resting his chin on Neil’s shoulder._

_“Why the hell are you reading something about chicken suits?”_

_Neil shrugged using his free shoulder. “It’s just trending.”_

Neil looked back to the clothes Max was wearing. It was Neil’s pale yellow nightgown (and the parakeet green pajama pants he’d brung). The one he refused to wear because he hated how it was a gown. The material was soft, Neil knew. He just wished it was a shirt and that was that. Nikki probably knew he didn’t like it.

Max turned his head a little, and stopped when, Neil assumed, he saw Neil. He paused the music and looked up at the boy. “Where were you?”

“Bathroom?”

“Both the bathrooms have been unoccupied for the past hour.” Max deadpanned. “You smell like a tree. Did you go outside?”

‘ _He can smell trees_?’ Neil breathed a sigh of relief and took his jacket off. “Uh, yeah. Just… needed some air.” He paused. “What are you doing up?”

Max shrugged. “I think I woke up shortly after you left. Heard a door open. Around eleven?”

“Yeah, probably me.”

“Fuck you.”

“What?”

“You woke me up.”

“Well- I- uh, sorry?”

Max pursed his lips. “Whatever. Not like I’m going back to sleep any time soon.”

Neil frowned. “No, you are. Get back in the bed.” He kicked his slippers off towards Max, one flying off and hitting Max in the forearm.

Max huffed. “Pushy, are we?” Nonetheless, he obliged and climbed back into the bed. While he did this, Neil tucked the five folders behind his desk. He didn’t need Max or Nikki to know about them right now.

Neil slipped under the covers, relishing in the warm fabric as it covered his body. He hadn’t realized how cold he was. 

“Holy fuck, you’re cold.”

“Don’t touch me if I’m so cold.” 

“I’m not!” Neil looked over to see that, yeah, Max wasn’t really near him. “You’re just radiating cold. Fuckin’ snowman.” 

“Warm me up, then.” Neil muttered impulsively. He realized what he said. “I mean-”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence as he felt Max shift over, pressing his body against his friend. “What’s up, I’m your personal microwave. Select your settings.” 

“I- well, uh-” Neil’s lips twitched into a smile. “...a microwave, really?”

Max snickered. “I’m small and easily moveable. What else would I be?” He pushed himself away. “I’m gonna try to go to sleep. Have fun, Frosty.”

Neil furrowed his brows, the right side of him becoming cold again. 

He closed his eyes, trying not to think about anything.

* * *

Neil woke up colder than when he fell asleep, despite him having more blanket than last night. Groggily, he glanced around and noted the time. 

**7:12 AM**

He looked over, seeing familiar teal hair. Nikki was still sleeping, in the same position nonetheless, but… where was Max?

Neil stood up and walked into the hall. He heard voices downstairs. 

The boy descended down the stairs, the voices registering in his head. 

“Yeah, I mean, things are okay, I guess? I don’t know.” Max.

“Well, sweetheart, if you ever need somewhere to go, you’re welcome here.” Candy.

“Even when we’re not here.” Dad.

“Thanks… uh, but, I don’t think you’d ever see me running over.”

Neil heard murmurs of understanding. He made it to the bottom, shuffling into the kitchen. 

Max was sitting with Candy and his dad, sipping on coffee. “Hey.”

Neil nodded towards him. He looked past Max and saw dishes of French toast and bacon. “Wow. That’s rare.” It wasn’t kosher, but, then again, Neil stopped strictly following that since camp.

Candy hummed. “Figured since you had a new friend over, we should make breakfast.”

“At seven in the morning?”

“Max was already awake and I knew you’d be up soon, anyway.”

Neil eyed Max suspiciously. ‘ _Bitch better have gone to sleep_.’ 

The brown-haired boy made himself a plate and sat next to Max. Candy and his dad went outside. “Please tell me you woke up at, like, six or seven.”

“Sure. I got up at six or seven.” 

Neil looked at him, doubtful.

“I’ve been up since two.” The younger boy admitted.

“Max!” 

“I _tried_.” Max shrugged, leaning over and stealing a strip of bacon. “Your mom makes good bacon.”

Neil narrowed his eyes at Max, mad that the boy didn’t sleep for long. And that he just stole bacon off his plate.

“So, Nik still asleep?” 

Neil nodded. “She sleeps a lot.”

Max chuckled. “Opposite of me. I’m lucky to get twenty-four hours a week.”

“Do you have, like, insomnia? I used to struggle with that.” Neil hummed. “Or, well, I struggle less now.”

“Maybe. It might just be that I’m used to not getting sleep? Or it’s because I’m a really light sleeper and literally anything will make me stir.” He took another sip of his coffee. “Doesn’t really matter, though. I have coffee.”

“Which is why you’re short.” 

“Hey. Fuck you.”

* * *

“How did we go from I’m staying here one night to ‘hey, let’s go to the zoo’?” Max mumbled as Neil tossed one of his jackets to the smaller boy. Max had initially refused, stating he’d just wear his hoodie, but Neil was forcing him to take the jacket anyway.

“Blame Nikki.”

“I am.” 

“The zoo’s fun!” Nikki chimed in, walking into the room while putting a long-sleeved yellow cable knit sweater on. “You like animals, don’t you?”

“Some are cool, I guess.” 

Neil started putting his shoes on. “Like deer, yeah?”

Max flipped around, Neil able to sense the glare he was just given. Before Max could get an insult in, Candy called up the stairs. “Are y’all ready?”

“Coming!” Nikki called, darting out of the room as soon as her left shoelace was tied up. 

“This is kidnap.”

“This is fun.” Neil hesitantly grabbed Max’s hand, not sure if it was an odd thing to hold his friend’s hand, even if it was brief. “Let’s go. You’ll finally get to see a seal.”

“...fuck, I’m in.” Max let Neil drag him to the car, the siblings squishing him between them. 

* * *

Max was a mysterious person when he wanted to be. That’s why whenever anybody knew anything personal about him, they would be eager to use it against him. Like when the campers found out about the bear. The teasing went on for a week before showing any signs of dying down. There was the time Max blurted out that he couldn’t swim. That was something that never stopped, even after camp ended. The tap dancing was something someone had brought up every now and then to take a jab at Max (because it would shut him up for a while), but then one day he had fired back at one of the kids who mentioned it, really hard, actually, and it was never brought up again.

Today was one of those days.

Neil snapped many photos of Max interacting with the animals. He even snagged a video of the younger boy gushing over the pool of seals (the video was more like Max making a noise between a scream and yelp of pure joy when one of the seals touched Max’s outstretched hand with its nose). Max wasn’t keen on the idea of people knowing about his love for, well, animals in general. He’d expressed before that he was comfortable with Neil knowing, stating that Neil’s teasing was different from the others. But now Nikki knew and Neil had photo evidence.

They had stayed until dark came around, which made Neil anxious because Preston had texted him two hours ago stating that he had gotten three new files and he had described a little of what they said. 

One file had a description of multiple cuts on Max’s arms, some over old scars. The kids were observing the tigers when Neil received the text. Nikki and Max were too busy trying to find the fourth tiger, so that gave Neil time to think. He tried to pinpoint a moment in the past few weeks where Neil had seen Max’s bare skin. The only thing he could remember seeing was, obviously, his face, his hands, his feet, and his neck. Though, as Neil thought about it, Max had complained about wearing a choker, though refused to take it off. That restricted view of his bare neck. 

The mere idea of Max harming himself made Neil feel queasy. He was trying to convince himself that maybe it wasn’t self-inflicted. Preston had said not to jump to the conclusion that Max did it to himself (although, the theatre kid did admit that he thought it was self-harm). 

Neil tried to act like nothing was wrong after having those conversations with Preston. He could tell he was doing a shit job at it though, as Max occasionally looked his way without a smile and Nikki blatantly pointed it out.

_“Are you feeling alright, Neil?” Nikki piped up, swinging her arm over her brother_.

_Neil cleared his throat, a lie already forming in his head. “I just read something disturbing. Politics.” It wasn’t a total lie._

That had been enough for Nikki, but Neil just knew Max didn’t buy it. Fucker was rather good at spotting lies. 

_“Gee, Hanukkah sure sounds a lot like Game of Thrones.”_

Culture Day was a special day to Neil. It was the day Neil confirmed to himself, no doubts anymore, that Max was truly a good person and someone worth being friends with. He and Nikki had been discussing random topics one day while Max was off with David and Gwen somewhere and the topic of Max came up. They had compared day one Max to the Max they knew then. He’d changed a lot and Nikki had said she was proud to call someone like Max her best friend. At the time, Neil didn’t understand why she was _so_ proud of it (though, he admits, he took a little pride in it too). But, in sixth grade, he learned that the other kids really knew nothing about Max. They constantly would ask things like “he did what?” or “was he really like that?”. They’d expressed how difficult it was to even have a nice conversation with him. Neil thought about it and realized that Max was kind of like a puzzle. Everyone had a Max puzzle, but the others barely started on it while Neil and Nikki had all the border pieces connected, plus some more. And those pieces didn’t accidentally fall out of Max’s hands, either. A lot of them were handed to the siblings directly. 

“-right, Neil?” Neil blinked, bringing himself back to reality. 

“Huh?”

Nikki looked at him, a wide grin plastered on her face. “The birds! They were really pretty, right?” 

“Oh. Yeah, yeah, they were really nice.”

“Really loud, too.” Max added, the visible parts of his face being lit up by his phone. 

Neil watched as Max texted someone. The contact at the top read “BAB”. He was able to catch a little bit of the conversation.

**BAB: so are seals your new favorite animal**

**shut up**

**yes**

**_BAB is typing…_**

Neil decided to look through his photo gallery. The latest picture was of the trio smiling in front of the panda exhibit, though the exhibit itself wasn’t visible. There was another photo of Max just about to hit Nikki after she wouldn’t shut up while he was trying to explain where the fourth tiger had been. A moment before “disaster” struck. After scrolling through, Neil noticed a picture of Max and… Neil? ‘ _When did…?_ ’ He tapped on the image, making it fill up his screen. The boys were leaning on the fence of the red panda area. Max was pointing out where one of the pandas were while Neil was simply looking at him with a warm smile. 

Neil swiped to the next pho- oh, it’s a video. They were still at the red panda exhibit. The brown-haired boy made sure his earbuds were plugged in before pressing play.

_“-wear to god, if you bring up the deer one more time, I’ll throw you into the lion pit.”_

_“But it’s cute.” Neil's voice carried a laugh._

_“Cute?!”_

_“Yeah, your love for animals. You act all tough, but you’re, like, a huge softie underneath.”_

_“Am not!”_

_“Need I remind you, animals?”_

_Max scoffed. “That’s one thing.”_

The video stopped there, but Neil remembered what he had said after.

_“Well, you made me- er, us all that stuff and literally vowed to me that you’d kick Tabii’s ass.”_

_“And?”_

_“And you did that because we’re friends. Huge softie.”_

_“That doesn’t make any sense, jackass.”_

_“Mm… makes perfect sense to me.”_

Neil felt someone tapping on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Max, who then quickly pointed to Nikki. She waved at him upon having eye contact. The brown-haired boy turned his phone off, then took out his earbuds. “What?”

“Can you send me the pictures with the three of us? I wanna post them.”

‘ _Could’ve texted me, but okay_.’ Neil turned his phone back on and began going through the photos, picking the ones that were good. He sent them over to Nikki. A few minutes later, he received a notification telling him he had been tagged in a post by _c.n.ikk.i.c_. At first, he ignored it. But then he saw the post on Max’s screen and the two usernames that popped up tagged. And he realized he wasn’t following Max. He had a thought, what if there’s some sort of clues on his Instagram? It was unlikely, but it was worth a shot. He followed Max’s account, taking a moment not to laugh at the username _maximumedge_ , and only had to wait about ten seconds before Max accepted the request. 

He’d have to look at the account later though, as Max was literally right next to him.

* * *

Max had left with Candy and Carl thirteen minutes ago. Neil didn’t quite understand why both parents left, but he wasn’t complaining. Neil shuffled into his room, quickly pulling the files out from behind his desk. The folders hit the desk with a semi-loud slap. The nerd turned his desk lamp on and pulled his chair in as close as possible. He was in analysis mode. 

The first file was dated _6/18/17_ , otherwise, June 18th, 2017. 

‘ _He was in the hospital while we were all having fun at Camp Campbell_ …’ 

The file described various bruises covering Max’s arms. There had been two bruises on his neck that seemed to overlap on the nape. There was a smaller piece of orange paper that had writing on it. Neil looked at it, realizing that it was some form of notes someone had made.

_Bruises resemble hands/fingers (neck). Could have been choked._

“Could’ve been choked…?” Neil ran a hand through his hair. Behind the main paper that detailed the casualties was an information sheet. It listed Max’s full name, plus his parents’ names. It gave an address and other things that Neil deemed trivial. He looked at the address and quickly established that it wasn’t one in the city. Max _had_ said that he had moved.

Neil’s eyes fell onto the word ‘guardian’. He… has never seen Max’s parents or heard their voices. 

_Alisha Pari Jones (Jani-Krish)_

_Sai Shakti Jones (Jani)_

Neil could only guess that the family had changed their last names, as Jones wasn’t an Indian surname and Jani (and Krish) probably was. He didn’t really understand why it was changed, though. 

Neil had already come to the conclusion that Max was abused at home, despite what Preston said about jumping to conclusions. He always had an inkling, even during camp. Maybe they were caught in India and moved and changed names? It was kind of a stretch but then again, Max was someone determined and smart and he had to get that from somewhere. Or not. But it was likely.

Scanning the file again, Lowenthal deduced that there was nothing else useful and went back over the injuries. 

Neil rolled away from his desk to the side of his bed. He leaned down, arm grabbing around under his bed. He found his diary and quickly rolled back to his desk. Neil wanted to document what was in the files. He did have to give them back, after all. Grabbing a pencil, he flipped to a new page and quickly wrote down the date. 

_September 21st, 2019_

 _June 18, 2017 - Bruised arms & neck/’could've been choked_’

He closed the file and slid the next one in front of him. July 24th, 2017.

 _Mild bruise just above the left eye. Small burns on the collarbone_.

Just like the other file, there was a colored note clipped to the bottom of the paper.

 _Burns are the size of a cigarette. The bruise is about the size of a closed fist_.

“So he was hit?” Neil asked himself. “And used as an ashtray?” He opened up his diary and scribbled the notes down. A part of him didn't want to go on.

 _August 1st, 2017_. 

_Maximus Tana Jones_

_Age: 11_

_Weight: 52.34 lb_

_Height: 4’3” (51.6”)_

There was a green note. _Underweight. Should be about 78 pounds. Various bruises were around the stomach region. Could have been starved or forced to vomit._

Neil leaned back in his chair. “I wonder how much he weighs now.” He said aloud. A little too loud.

Nikki busted through the door. “How much who weighs?”

Neil jumped, quickly slamming his diary over the open file. “No one!” 

“What’s that?” 

“Nothing.” Neil held his hands over the book. He didn’t want Nikki to know. Not now. “Go away.”

But Nikki didn’t leave. She surveyed the desk. Neil watched her face contort into one of worry. “Neil-”

“I know, I know.” He knew exactly what she was thinking. In sixth grade, Neil would stay up night after night trying to figure out what had happened to Max. He looked just like this. Nikki didn’t like it when Neil did that. “I just… I- well…” Neil couldn’t come up with an adequate excuse. “...it’s Saturday.”

“And?” Nikki walked over to the desk, forcing Neil’s hands off the diary. She picked it up and closed it, but then she paused. 

She’d seen the file. “What’s that?” A childlike curiosity crept into her voice as she moved to read it.

Neil knew he couldn’t stop her at that point. He just watched her expression shift to one of horror. “Wait…” Her voice grew quiet. “N… wha…?” Her eyes moved to the other files. “Where… did you get these…?”

Neil couldn’t meet her eyes. “Preston gave them to me. They’re from the hospital. He thought I should see them…”

“This…” Nikki placed the book back down. “What do those say?” She pointed to the stack of four.

“I’ve only gotten through two others… they both said he had bruises on his body.” 

Nikki left the room without a word, but she left the door open. She came back a few moments later, dragging her own chair into the room. She slid the chair under the desk and sat, her necklace clacking against the wood.

“Are you sure you want to look at these?” Neil asked after writing down the August file into his book. 

“Yes, I’m sure. He… he’s my friend too. If there’s something wrong, I want to know what.”

Neil sighed, gripping for another file. 

That one was dated February 12th, 2018. It was probably the worst one. 

It detailed how Max had welts and even scars, deep ones, on his upper back. It said that Max had been rushed into the hospital by, not his parents, but his aunt. The note that came with it wasn’t like the others. It seemed like a script.

_Rosh Jani: “I was just coming over to check on him. He had called me, frantic about something. When I had gotten there, my brother and his wife were gone but I still went inside. He… he was in the bathroom on the floor.”_

_Officer Dreaglin: “Was he bleeding?”_

_Rosh Jani: “No. Well- yes, a little. I just threw a jacket on him and took him here.”_

_Officer Dreaglin: “Has… Mr. or Mrs. Jones ever had a history of abuse?”_

_Rosh Jani: “What? Are- are you accusing my brother of hurting his son? He would never! The worst thing he’s ever done to him was lock him in his room when he was younger because they both had to go to work.”_

_Officer Dreaglin: “What happened to him? Since it wasn’t abuse, according to you.”_

_Rosh Jani: “I’m honestly not sure. But I do know he wasn’t hurt by Sai. My brother’s a sweet man and a loving father. The best thing I can guess is… well, I’m not sure. But there’s a reasonable explanation for this.”_

“Transcript.” Neil mumbled. “It’s probably a transcript from an interview with his aunt.”

Nikki held the file in front of her face, her right leg pulled against her chest. “How… how could an officer be so stupid?”

“Huh?”

“‘Since it wasn’t abuse, according to you.’, they’re just gonna believe that?!”

“I don’t think they did, Nik. Look,” Neil flipped the transcript page, “they did a police investigation afterwards. An investigation for child abuse. They only closed the case when Max’s parents gave a good enough statement.”

“And what was that?”

“It doesn’t say. Not about the scars.”

Nikki let out a frustrated groan. “Let’s just… what else does it say?”

“There were multiple crescent-shaped marks engraved in Max’s arms. Uh, the note says the markings looked identical to Max’s mom’s nails.”

“And they got away with it?”

“The statement given was that sometimes Max would run around the house and she had tried to grab him but accidentally hurt him.”

“They just-? That doesn’t- _UGH_.” The girl was going to explode any moment. 

Neil nervously continued. “It also says that Max was unconscious for around three hours before waking up. He experienced a little bit of memory loss and couldn’t tell the doctors or officers what had happened.”

“Well, do you think he remembers now?” Nikki pulled out her phone, ready to text Max.

“No!” Neil grabbed his sister’s device. “Er, _yes_ , but I… I don’t want Max knowing that we know this stuff. Not… not yet.”

“Wh-? But you’ve been wanting to know about this for ages!”

“I know. But think about this: Max isn’t going to just tell us if we ask him. He’ll… push us away or hate us.”

“No he won’t. We’re his friends! He wouldn’t push us away.”

“He’s Max.” 

The girl frowned at her brother's words. Neil knew she knew he was right. He wished he wasn’t right. He wished he could just ask Max but Max was Max and they couldn’t take the chance of him blocking them out. Not again. 

_March 4th. 2018. Fractured left ring finger._

“That’s not so bad.” Neil muttered. “Compared to everything else…” He looked over his diary, making sure everything was accurate. Once checking over everything, he turned to Nikki. “I’m gonna go meet up with Preston. He’ll have three more so…” The brown-haired boy stood. “If Candy and dad come back, just… tell them I’m asleep, I guess. I’ll text you so you can tell me if I’m in the clear.”

“Alright…” Nikki’s voice was just above a whisper. 

“You… okay?” ‘ _No, she’s not okay. What the fuck kind of question is that?_ ’ 

“No.” She answered truthfully. “I don’t think I could be okay with finding out that my _best friend_ was suffering while we all thought he just left us.” She put a hand to her forehead. “God, how could _we_ be so stupid? H- How could _I_ be so stupid? I should’ve… I dunno, helped you or _something_. Not just sit back and just _wait_ for him to show up.”

Neil put a hand to Nikki’s back. “You… you couldn’t have known. A-”

“ _But I should’ve_!” Nikki slammed her fists onto the desk. “I… I should have…” Neil could see the tears forming at the corners of her pink eyes. 

Neil was never good at comforting others. Not by himself, anyway. The only person he ever successfully comforted (in his opinion) was Max. And that was way back at camp when Max suddenly stumbled into their shared tent, bloody knuckles and in the middle of a panic attack after breaking himself out of Campbell’s safe. Neil felt so grateful that Max forgave him after Neil locked him in that safe, consequently forgot about him, and left him in there for the rest of the day and almost the whole night. 

“...Hey, uh… let me… show you something…” Neil shuffled over to his closet. He took out a scrapbook that was wedged between the wall and the cubby shelf. 

“Is… is that the scrapbook thing me and Max made you?”

Neil set the album down in front of Nikki. “Yeah. And uh, look,” He lifted the cover. 

The first page had two group photos. The top one was labeled _2016_ and the other said _Camp Campbell is the place for me and you!_. Everyone had been given a photograph at the end of the summer. 

Nikki gave hers to Neil since she didn’t trust herself to keep the picture safe. Neil knew where all of the others kept theirs. Space Kid had his in the front of his health binder. Dolph created a custom made frame and displayed it above his bed. Ered put hers in a photo album that stayed hidden underneath her bed. Preston framed it and created a collage with others photos from camp he had managed to get. Nerris pinned it to the corkboard behind her desk, just in the right position where she could occasionally glance at it while playing some sort of roleplay game on her computer. Harrison added it to the wall of family photos. He had said he had to argue with his parents a bit on it, claiming that the Camp Campbell kids were just as much a family to him as they were. Nurf folded his up and tucked it away in the wallet he’d received on his birthday before his dad passed away. 

Neil flipped the page. At the very top were the words “ _MESS HALL_.” There were photos of the kids having fun in said place. There was one of the food fight, one of Quartermaster Appreciation Day, there was one of that ascension party Daniel threw, creepily enough, and some others of just the trio. Neil’s favorite was the one that was taken early in the morning after the kids stayed up all night looking for Nikki. It was of him and Max. They both look disheveled and tired as all hell, but they were both smiling, Max’s arm around Neil’s shoulders. 

Neil looked closer at that one photo. He noticed that Max… looked genuinely happy. It oddly made his chest tighten.

The boy blinked, remembering about Preston.

**Sat, Sep 21, 9:57 PM**

**Do you still have those three files?**

**Preston: Yea**

**Preston: Park?**

**Yes.**

“Hey, Nik, gotta go. I’ll be back in maybe an hour.”

“...okay.” Her voice was quiet.

* * *

“What’d you find out?” Preston asked once Neil was close enough.

“Well, he was possibly choked, had multiple bruises on his body, had nail marks on his arms, was possibly starved or forced to vomit… oh, and had a fractured finger.”

Preston blinked. “Wo- wow. Uh. So, uh, I only read through that one about the arm scars… and stuff.” They exchanged files. 

“...Nikki knows.” Neil mumbled.

“She does? How… how’d she take it?”

Neil shrugged. “Not good, I guess. I think she blames herself?”

The theatre boy frowned. “Well, now there’s three people on the… hunt- hunt? Yeah, hunt!” Preston tried to sound enthusiastic. 

Neil smiled, nonetheless. “Thanks, Preston.”

“...Doing my best.”

* * *

“Okay,” Neil entered his room. Nikki was still looking through the album. “Got these.” He set the three new folders on the desk.

Nikki lightly tapped Neil on the shoulder, then pointed at a photo once she knew she had his attention. Neil peered over. The image was one of Max, Neil, and Nikki, laughing. It had been a bright day and the kids were laying in the grass. The photo had been taken by Gwen. Which, as soon as Max found out Gwen had, he scrambled up her body to take the phone and delete it. But then he had seen the picture and ultimately decided to let her keep it. That whole interaction had made Nikki laugh harder. 

It was another rare photo of Max being happy. 

“It’s weird.” Nikki solemnly said. “Looking back at old photos… there’s like… this… sadness to his eyes.” She flipped to a picture of all the campers sitting by the amphitheater. Max was smiling, but it wasn’t like the others. The photo was taken the day before camp ended. 

“...I…” Nikki sadly smiled. “Is it… you know how he covers up his eyes? I wish he didn’t do that. I miss seeing those green eyes of his.”

Neil put his hand over Nikki’s. “Remember when Gwen’s dad came by?” 

“Yeah?”

“And how his eyes sparkled at the sight of the dog?”

“Oh yeah! Missy, right? Gosh, Max loved that dog.”

“I had never seen him that excited over something before.” 

“Really?”

Neil laughed a little. “Well, maybe except a deer or a seal…”

A smile was now painted on Nikki’s face. “You keep mentioning that. What’s it from?”

“Oh, uh, so, back at camp me and Max would sneak off and do whatever. One day we were coming back from the wa- uh, our secret place, and we ran into a deer. It was hurt, I think, and Max helped it. Then it followed us back to camp and, well, you know what happened.” Neil removed his hand from Nikki’s. “Fast forward maybe a week later and we’re walking through the woods. We found a whole herd of them and I swear if I didn’t drag Max over the river, they would’ve taken him.”

“Taken him?”

“Quartermaster the self-elected squirrel king? Max the elected by-the-people deer king.”

“Oh.”

“We stopped taking that route afterwards. Found another one that we liked better.”

Nikki hummed, tapping her freshly painted fingertips on the desk. “...what do you think Mom and Dad are doing?”

Neil shrugged. “They might be talking to his parents.”

Nikki stopped tapping, her expression shifting to a slightly confused one. “Did… did we ever _see_ his parents? I don’t think I even saw what they looked like when they went to pick him up. Did you?”

“No.” Neil shook his head. “I’ve never seen them.” 

The teal-haired girl giggled. “Who do you think he got his eyes from?”

“His mom, I’m pretty sure.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“Yeah, I think so. I have a hazy memory of it.” Neil looked down at his hands. “I remember him saying he looks more like his mom than his dad.”

“Did he ever say anything about his dad?”

“Uh,” Neil put a hand to his chin. “I think he said his dad’s eyes were pink.”

“Pink? Like me?”

“Yeah, like you.”

* * *

**Sun, Sep 22, 12:02 AM**

**Max: omfg ur stupid**

**Max: it took me like 2 seconds to find the snake**

**Sorry, I‘m blind.**

**Max: u really are**

**Max: hey hey !!**

**Max: [Daniel.png]**

**Max: find the snake**

**What an ugly snake.**

**Max: lmao**

**Max: ok**

**Max: this is gonna be hard**

**Max: [BillyWithFlowerScoutsInBG.png]**

**Max: find the snake**

**I found four.**

**Max: wha-**

**Max: OH**

**Max: IT TOOK ME A MINUTE**

**Max: HOLY SHIT**

Neil smiled to himself. After finding out what he knew, it was nice to see Max happy. Well, he assumed. 

**Max: ngl I meant billy but ur right there are four**

**Max: have you seen them around**

**Max: ?**

**Snake and Tabii are juniors. Sasha, Erin, Pikeman, and Petrol are seniors**. 

**Max: what abt jermy**

**Max: pls tell me the rat isn’t here**

**He moved in 8th. If he was still here, he’d be in our grade.**

**Max: oh thank god**

**Pretty sure he was bullied out of school.**

**Max: if i was there i would’ve bullied him out of existence**

**That’s mean.**

**Max: excuse me, have u met me**

**Fair point.**

**Max: heyay**

**What.**

**Max: i wanna tell u something i learned abt david**

**Blackmail?**

**Max: no, unfortunately**

**Max: the twink is dating**

**W h a t.**.

**Max: yea and guess who it is**

**Who?**

**Max: G**

**Max: W**

**Max: E**

**Max: N**

**Gwen??**

**Max: yea gwen**

**How’d you find out?**

**Max: he has a picture on his computer of him and gwen with the caption “5 months” or something dumb**

**Should I tell Nikki?**

**Max: uh idc, why?**

**She always thought they’d get together and she said she wanted to get an “I’m His” and a “I’m Hers” sweater for each of them.**

**Max: that**

**Max: i wanna**

**Max: i wanna go with her when she gets them**

**Really?**

**Max: yes**

**Max: fucking yes**

**Max: tell me if and when she goes**

**Max: ugly sweater time**

**It’s been a while since I’ve seen Gwen.**

**Max: maybe we can convince david to bring her**

**Maybe.**

**Hey, uh, I’m tired. I’ll text you later, okay?**

**Max: yea me too**

**Max: text u later baibai**

“Who the hell uses ‘baibai’?” Neil mumbled, his lips in a tired smile, as he buried his face in his pillow. He tried to ignore the situation with Max and focus on more positive thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the next chapter is called "Memories" and it's basically just Neil reading through his diary. Expect some legit Maxneil moments. Should come out relatively soon.  
> It's 3am, imma go to sleep. 
> 
> [Relationship Chart](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1em-w94GArPYmkTuPjYvGc0zINax18y5ogAGkaE5IMec/edit?usp=sharing)  
> [Designs](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dG9dt90PIyPbPSAn_CsJ7O_Gpz1rr8rtVSl1s8Vsg4U/edit?usp=sharing)


	7. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil recalls times from his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is format horror. I feel like things are rushed, out-of-character, and completely random. Oh well, I guess.

So, Neil couldn’t fall asleep. He half-wished he was, though. This was a stupid idea.

He was reading through his first diary. His first thoughts of the camp. His first adventure with Max and Nikki. His first opinions of all the campers. At the time, Neil hated camp. No air conditioning. No internet. Just a shitty camp. But now?

He misses it. He misses it a lot. 

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t have fun. He made friends. He was able to express himself more there than he ever could at home. 

_June 15th, 2016_

_Camp Campbell sucks. It’s not even a science camp. Not a proper one. Well, besides how this camp sucks… I met two people. A girl, Nikki, and a boy, Max. I don’t think Max likes this camp either. He was really dead-set on escaping. Nikki helped us. We hotwired a bus but we didn’t get far. Max said he’s not going to stop trying to escape. I’m not really one to do “bad things”, but I think I’m going to help him. I don’t want to be here._

_“Let’s the fuck out of here.”_

_June 17th, 2016_

_I knew teenage girls were petty or something, but goddamn. I haven’t even known Nikki that long but what they were saying about her kind of set me off, I guess. Tim Drew always went on about how two-faced his older sister was. Girls like that suck. Cunts._

_“Y’all are some ignorant fucking cunts.”_

Neil laughed a little. He still doesn’t regret saying that to them. 

_June 24th, 2016_

_Stupid Harrison. Magic doesn’t exist. Stupid. There’s a reasonable explanation for everything. Even what he did to Max._

Neil frowned. He remembered that day. He had never had such animosity against someone before. 

_“I’m gonna go get some breakfast before this scars me for life.”_

_Max said he wasn’t part of the act. Did Harrison surgically insert everything inside Max? Even if that were the case, how could Max throw up a skateboard? I can kind of believe the scarves and maybe even the stuffed rabbits, but a skateboard? And a hook?! I think it was Quartermaster’s hook. Gross._

_June 25th, 2016_

_I almost killed Nikki. Holy shit._

Lowenthal snickered. That was all he had written for that day. The day where he tried to shove a long rope of scarves down his now stepsisters throat.

_June 26th, 2016_

_I almost killed Nikki the day before her birthday._

_“I’m four!” Nikki cheered, blowing out the candles._

_“You’re eleven.” Neil corrected._

_“I’m choosing to be four.”_

_“You can’t_ choose _to be four.”_

_“Fine, I’m eight.”_

_Neil groaned._

Right, Nikki’s birthday was the 26th. Every year after the first one, David had thrown a party and let the kids have the day off. 

_June 28th, 2016_

_Maybe Camp Campbell isn’t so bad. The people are actually kind of nice in their own ways. Like Max. He’s an asshole, but he’s the charming kind of asshole. What he did was for David was kinda sweet. He came into the Mess Hall and kinda forced us to go back to David. We got Indian costumes. Dolph and Preston designed them and Max (and Dolph and Gwen) made them. He’s really good at knitting. I saw him making something last night. I think it’s a blanket? It’s blue with yellow stripes. Or yellow with blue stripes._

_“Camp Campbell is the place for me and you.”_

Max knitted a lot, Neil remembered. A few times Neil would wake up from a nightmare and Max would help him fall back asleep using the needles. He’d click the needles together until the older boy dozed back off. That had been something Neil missed when camp ended. He usually couldn’t fall back asleep without it.

_July 4th, 2016_

_It’s amazing how many fireworks Campbell had in the attic of the Mess Hall. I think David and Gwen were trying to hide them from us. Me and Max found them. Max wanted to show me something he was doing (it was in the attic), and we just came across them. So, of course we got Space Kid to distract the counselors while everyone else got the fireworks. We waited until it was dark to set them off. Everyone else had a campfire and roasted marshmallows while me and Max set everything else up on Spooky Island. Everyone gathered by the docks when it happened. When David and Gwem came over, they looked so disappointed in themselves._

_“One!” Max lit trail leading to the fireworks. As soon as it was lit, he and Neil raced over to the boat and quickly started it up. They had just made it to the others when the first round of fireworks went off._

_The other kids made sounds of awe as the bright colors flashed in the sky. Nikki handed Max and Neil a smore. “This is awesome!” She smiled._

_“What the fuck?!” “Oh gosh,” Everyone turned around to see David and Gwen._

_The kids just laughed, satisfied in their latest triumph._

_July 8th, 2016_

_Max has a teddy bear!_

_“Eat shit, Satan!”_

‘ _Oh, right! The bear!_ ’ Neil smiled. After that incident Max eventually started to openly sleep with it. Although, he did threaten Neil if Neil ever told anyone.

_Neil yawned as he entered his shared tent. The first thing he saw was Max furiously knitting something black. He watched as Max practically stabbed his hand with the point. Max didn’t make a sound, but the pain was evident on his face. He kept going though, poking himself again less than five seconds later._

_“Woah- hey!” Neil rushed to Max’s side, grabbing Max’s wrists. The younger boy dropped everything he was holding._

“What?” _Max hissed._

_“What the hell are you doing?!” Neil examined Max’s hands. There was a minimal amount of blood and maybe around a dozen small cuts._

_“I’m stress knitting, what the fuck does it look like?” Max tried to pull his hands back, but Neil tightened his grip._

_“Stress knitting?”_

_“Yes!” Max barked, trying to push Neil away from him._

_“Why-” Neil paused. “Is this about the bear?”_

_Max tensed and looked away, favoring to stare at the black thread on his lap. “No. Why would it be about some dumb teddy bear?”_

_“Max.” Neil waited for said boy to meet his eyes, but the kid’s gaze didn’t budge. “Jesus Christ, Max.” Neil sighed and let go of his friend’s hands._

_Silence filled the air. It was almost deafening. “...ha.”_

_The nerd looked up at the other boy with a confused expression. “Huh?”_

_“You said ‘Jesus Christ’.” Max half-smiled._

_“Wha-? What does that-_ oh.” _It was Neil’s turn to smile. He delivered a light punch to Max’s arm. “Shut up.”_

_July 13th, 2016_

_There are days where I wonder just what the fuck David and Gwen are thinking. They hosted something called “Parents’ Day” today, and it sorta did and sorta didn’t go well. Campbell was arrested by Ered’s dads. I guess that’s good? But my dad and Nikki’s mom fucked. So, that’s pretty fucking bad._

Neil audibly sighed, remembering seeing his own father having sex with the mother of his best friend. Now that woman was his stepmother. Well, not legally. Not yet. Though Neil had a feeling his dad might get a ring within the year. He wasn’t sure if he was happy about that or not.

_“Huh. I haven’t seen Max in a while…”_

_Meanwhile, where the fuck is Max? And David and Gwen for that matter. They just up and disappeared! I asked Harrison, but he said he had no idea. Where the hell did they go?_

_July 14th, 2016_

_Update: They came back. I was creating ideas for experiments when Max just came into the tent. He looked kind of happy but also sad. Like a happy kind of sad. We made eye contact and he just said “hi” to me. Uh?? Of course I asked him where he was, but he shrugged it off and didn’t give me a proper answer. I want to know why he just left._

_‘I want to know why he just left.’_

“Did I predict the fucking future?” Neil mumbled. 

_July 16th, 2016_

_It snowed. In the middle of summer. Fuckin’ global warming. It was kind of nice, I guess. I don’t celebrate Christmas (I don’t think Max does either), but it wasn’t so bad. Max got a BB gun and he told me he’s gonna shoot David with it. He tried already, but David was prepared and got goggles. Won’t stop Max from trying. We got hot chocolate and everyone huddled by the fireplace. There were six blankets provided by the counselors. Dolph and Space Kid shared one and Harrison and Nerris (reluctantly) shared one. Max went and got the thing he had been knitting for a while. I was right, it was a blanket! It was kind of big and fluffy. Nikki hugged both of us and I guess at one point I held Max’s hand. We held hands for almost the whole night and he even laid his head on my shoulder. I think he almost fell asleep. It was kind of cute._

_“Jesus fuck this is hot.” Max blew on the hot chocolate in his hands._

_“Well yeah, it was just made.” Neil said, his voice still carrying a little laugh._

_“I didn’t know that!”_

_“You watched it being made!”_

_“Shut up, no I didn’t. Can’t prove it.”_

_Neil rolled his eyes, though a smile was present on his face. “Sure, Max.”_

Neil read over the last few lines. Oh yeah, they _did_ hold hands for pretty much the rest of the night. Now that he thought about it, despite Max saying he hated touching and that he valued personal space, Max never really minded it when it was Neil. Either that or he simply never voiced his discomfort. 

_Max returned, a ball of yellow and blue in his arms._

_“Whuzzat?” Nikki pointed to the thing Max was holding._

_“A blanket.” Max shrugged. He let the blanket hang loose and wrapped it around himself. It was bigger and a lot better put together than what Neil thought it would be. The younger boy trotted over to Neil, opening the blanket like an invitation._

_“What?”_

_“You wanna freeze or not?”_

_“Oh. Uh, no.” Neil nervously stepped into the little space Max made. Once the blanket was closed, Neil could feel Max slip his hand into his. The taller male subconsciously intertwined their fingers._

_July 16th, 2016 (11: 21 PM)_

 _Max fell asleep. We were the only ones in the Mess Hall so I kind of wrapped him in the blanket (kind of like a baby) and carried him to our tent. I found his bear! It was under his cot. If he finds out I did all that he might kill me._

_July 20th, 2016_

_I feel fucking awful. There were these forgein kids that came to the camp and we did activities with them. The reward was ice cream and I guess Max really wanted that so he joined their team. They turned out to be spies and right before they were about to commit suicide, I suggested they have ice cream. Then I threw Max in the safe. And I fucking forgot about him. He came into the tent, blood on his knuckles and on the verge of tears. He was in the middle of a panic attack. He’s asleep right now. Right next to me, actually. I’ve never seen him asleep up close. He seems peaceful. I guess he actually looks like a kid._

_“Jesus fuck-” Neil ran his fingers over Max’s knuckles. “How-? What did you do?!”_

_“I-” Max breathed, “I br-broke the safe d-door.” His voice cracked._

_“You-?” Neil froze. “Oh my god- I am_ so _sorry! I forgot you were in there! How could I forget you were in there?!” The older boy ran his hand through his hair. “I am so sorry, oh my god. I can’t believe I just forgot…” His voice turned to an incoherent mumble._

_Max shakily grabbed Neil’s hand. “...’s okay."_

_Neil noticed just how much Max was trembling. His breathing was heavy and he was blinking rapidly. “Are… are you alright?”_ ‘No, he’s not. And, no, this is not okay.’

_“Ev’rything hurts.” The shorter boy’s speech was slurred._

_Neil recognized the symptoms. “Does your chest hurt?”_

_Max slowly nodded._

_“Do you feel hot and cold at the same time?”_

_“Sweaty.” Max mumbled._

‘Okay, so it’s a panic attack.’ _Neil took Max’s other hand and led him over to his cot, patting the space next to him. Max sat._

_“Focus on your breathing…” Neil put his hand on Max’s back and began rubbing circles into his back. “I can get you water… if the Mess Hall is unlocked.”_

“ _Is.” Max quietly said. “Unlocked it.”_

‘Even David forgot about him?’ _“Okay… uh, I’ll go get that?” Neil moved to stand up, but Max grabbed his wrist._

_“No,” His grip tightened. “...stay.”_

_“Uh- o-okay, yeah. Yeah, I can do that.” Neil let his body fall back._

_Eventually Max had calmed down enough to the point of falling asleep. At first, Neil thought the kid died. He was relieved when he heard Max’s breathing and used the sound to fall asleep himself._

_July 23rd, 2016_

_I danced with two guys and two girls tonight. Tonight was weird. I developed a crush on that Flower Scout, Erin. Then Gwen tried to play matchmaker. She wrote a poem and gave it to Erin as a “secret admirer”. I’d never write something like that. Erin thought it was from Snake. Then Snake developed a crush on Tabii, the girl who has an obsession with me. I think she’s over me? God, I hope she’s over me. I don’t like Erin anymore. Flower Scouts are still cunts. Me, Snake, Tabii, and Erin all danced together. As for the other guy I danced with… after the party, when everyone went back to their tents, Max and I lagged behind in the Mess Hall to clean up and we started to joke around about what had happened during the party (he and Nikki cheated the vote and made the queen Gwen and king Jermy Fartz, and for that, he got my applause). We started joking about the dancing and I guess we just started to dance? I twirled him. Half-dipped him too, I think. I don’t know. I think I liked dancing with Max more than with Snake, Tabii, and Erin. Then again, I actually like him because he’s my friend. Snake isn’t so bad. But even then I don’t like the Wood Scouts._

_“I saw you dancing with Erin. How was that?”_

_“Awful.”_

_“...really?”_

_“Yeah. She was just using me to make Snake jealous.” Neil sighed, twirling the ladle in the punch bowl._

_“Damn. That sucks.” Max leaned against the snack table. “If it makes you feel better, your guys’ dancing sucked.”_

_“Honestly, I’m not really upset about it. And hey, I don’t think you could do any better.”_

_“Really?” Max grabbed one of the leftover lemon cookies. “I’ll have you know my parents made me take ballet when I was eight.”_

_Neil almost laughed. “You? Ballet?”_

_“Top of the motherfucking class.”_

_“I doubt that. Besides, at a dance you're not going to be doing ballet.”_

_Max put the whole cookie in his mouth. “Well, then, what about the fact that I’ve been dancing waltz for half my life?”_

_“Prove it.”_

_Max almost choked. “What?”_

_“I can’t really see you as a dancer. So, prove it to me.”_

_The kid swallowed the sweet. “Hm… okay.” Max walked over to the radio behind the DJ stand and dragged it over to the snack table. He chose a song and stepped in front of Neil, holding his hand out. “May I have this dance, your highness?”_

_Neil snickered and took Max’s hand. “Why, yes, of course, dear peasant.” He said in a feigned voice._

_“Peasant?” Max cocked an eyebrow._

_“Peasant.” The taller kid affirmed._

_Max smirked. “You’ll regret saying that.” He suddenly pulled Neil close to him, their bodies adjacent and noses almost touching. Max took Neil’s hand and started to dance, his movements nearly in sync with the music while he let Neil clumsily try to follow. After a while, Max paused and smiled up at Neil. “Your turn.”_

_“My turn?”_

_“Uh huh. Dance a waltz or something. Slow dance, I don’t know.”_

_Neil swallowed. “Alright.” He took the lead, awkwardly spinning the shorter boy. “I have no clue what I’m doing.”_

_“I can see that.” Max dragged Neil’s hands to his waist. “Ever seen a dip?” He put his hands on the taller boy’s shoulders._

_“Yeah, I think so.”_

_“Try it.”_

_Neil visibly panicked. Max noticed._

_“Look,” Max started to lean backwards, his hands moving down Neil’s arms. Neil’s grip on Max tightened, terrified of dropping him. Max stood back up. “It’s not so hard.”_

_“Says the person who took waltz for five years.”_

_“So you believe me.”_

_“Yes. Yes, I do.”_

_July 28th, 2016_

_We spent all night looking for Nikki after she decided it’d be a great idea to jump off the cliff because Max threw all the candy off it. We found her wrestling with some wolves. They followed her to camp. I don’t know what David and Gwen are gonna do with that._

_“Oh my fuckng god- NIKKI! What the fuck are you doing?!” Max shouted, annoyed, from the rock he and Neil were on._

_“Oh, hey Max! Hey, Neil!” Nikki dodged a wolf. “I’m playing with Carl and Jane!” She growled through her teeth._

_“She’s gonna get herself killed.” Neil said, growing more nervous with every second._

_“I’d let her, but Gwen would be pissed that she’d have to fill out a dead camper paperwork thing.” Max sighed. Or yawned. Maybe a mix of both._

_“A what?” Neil questioned._

_Max ignored him. “Nikki, quit the bullshit and come back to camp. I’m tired as fuck.”_

_July 30th, 2016_

_The camp was sold._

That day was kinda fun. In the beginning with going around the city and such… but then they found out the camp was sold and it went to shit. 

_July 31st, 2016_

_I can’t believe Max said that to us. We spent so much time together and we’re not actual long-term friends? I knew he could be an ass but goddammit. I’m angry. But I’m also not. I’m frustrated._

_“You were fine on your own before we showed up. You’ll be fine once we’re gone.”_

The nerd rolled onto his back, holding the diary above him. 

_“What do you think you’re gonna do at your new camp?” Nikki questioned, her legs kicking._

_“I don’t know.” Neil answered, an angry expression still on his face._

_“I think I’ll explore the place. See if there’s any fun places.”_

_Neil let out an annoyed sigh. “It’s an adventure camp, Nikki. There’s probably tons of ‘fun’ places.”_

_Neil felt Nikki stop kicking her legs. She sighed, “I know you’re mad-”_

_“Of course I’m mad!” The nerd whirled around, staring the girl down. “I just… I don’t understand. He’s a dick, I know. But… still.”_

_Nikki awkwardly put her hand on Neil’s back. “...who needs him? We’ll probably meet better people at our camps. We’ll forget about him in no time.”_

_Neil looked at Nikki, a serious doubt embedded in his face._

 _The adventurer gave a faux smile. “It’ll be like, ‘Max? Who’s he? Never heard of him.’”_

_“You and I both know that’s not gonna happen.”_

_Nikki frowned. “Yeah… I know. Just… trying to stay positive, I guess.”_

_“It’s not working, but thanks for trying.”_

_July 31st, 2016_

_I thought maybe, just maybe the actual Science Camp would be fine. But it’s not. It fucking sucks. Sure there’s internet and air-conditioning, but it just lacks… freedom and unity? Not sure exactly what it is but it’s different. Too different. I never thought I’d say this, but I miss Camp Campbell. I miss starting food fights. I miss rebelling against the adults. I miss seeing David and Gwen’s faces when they fall headfirst into a prank. I miss everyone. I miss Nikki. I miss Max._

Neil noticed a few dots on the page that had faded over time. ‘ _Ah, right._ ’ When Neil wrote that entry, he had been crying. He remembered that as soon as he wrote Max’s name, he closed the book and threw it across the room of his cabin. At the Science Camp, everyone had their own little cabin. That was also something that Neil hated. He had missed sharing a tent with Max. He had missed hearing Max’s light snores and waking up to see the younger boy curled up in his bed, his face half buried in his bear. He had missed making coffee for the both of them with the coffee machine they had. He had missed the playful fights with Max where they’d swing the pillows at each other, semi-yelling at each other to go to sleep. He had missed Max clicking the needles together when Neil had a nightmare. He had missed the very rare times where Neil was awake when Max had a nightmare and they’d end up sleeping in the same cot. Even now, three years later, he still kind of misses it. 

_August 1st, 2016_

_We got the camp back. Max apologized, which I’m still kind of surprised about. He teamed up with David and Campbell. According to everybody else they set fire to the camps and David gave them fake paperwork or something. Campbell had betrayed them, but I think he had a change of heart. He turned himself in and gave ownership to David and Gwen. So… now they own the camp._

_“‘Cause you’re my friends, and I just didn’t want to admit it. Because once the time actually came to say goodbye, I’d have something to lose. But you know… trying to go through life all on your own seems pretty fucking stupid now.”_

_“Well, I guess this is goodbye. I just wanted you to know… I’ll miss you. And I’m sorry we couldn’t be friends longer.”_

_‘Max… didn’t have a clear indication of what it was like to be friends, did he?’_ Neil frowned. At the time, Neil didn’t think about it too much, but looking back and replaying Max’s words… there was something about it that was off-putting.

_August 2nd, 2016_

_We watched a movie last night in a bunker we found a while ago. David caught us though. Because of that each of us have to have fifteen minutes of counseling time or something. Max said that David’s acting a little off. David seems pretty much the same to me. I think that movie’s getting to him._

“Ugh, Daniel.” Neil said to himself. Max had been right when he said something was off with David. 

_“Uh… Gwen?” Harrison pulled on the door. “The door’s locked.”_

_“What?” Gwen, annoyed, looked up at the magician._

_“It’s not opening.”_

_Gwen walked over to the door and pulled. It wasn’t opening. “That’s weird.” She turned back to the others, her eyes searching for any possible keys._

_Nikki left Neil’s side and pressed her face against the window. “Oh! There’s Max! He’s running!” Everyone gathered against the window, all seeing Max run into the woods, seemingly in a panic. David came out of the tent too, pulling guitar splinters out of his face. He walked into the woods, after Max._

_“Did Max attack David?” Nerris asked. The kids started asking question after question._

_“Oh, Max~!” Everyone stopped._

_“Why’d you have to hit me so hard, Max?”_

_Neil and Nikki made eye contact, both of them having the same expression. They both knew. That wasn’t the redhead’s voice. “That’s not David…” Neil said._

_The other kids looked at Neil, confused._

_“Now I have guitar splinters all over my face!”_

_“That’s Daniel.”_

_Silence._

_“He’s going after Max!” Nikki somehow pressed her face harder against the glass._

“Stupid cult leader. Hope he had fun in Antarctica.” Neil flipped the page.

_I was wrong. Max was right. It was Daniel. Max told me he almost got stabbed. He also said he used a crossbow._

_August 3rd, 2016_

_Holy shit, Max really saved my ass. I should’ve listened to him. Lying really is his thing._

“Lying is his thing.” Neil frowned. Max was rather well at lying. Back then, Neil wouldn’t have really thought about it much. But now? Knowing what he knew now, his ability to lie was semi-concerning. 

Neil looked at the next few entries, but found that there weren’t any dates. They weren’t as long as the others, either. 

_Haha, Max can’t swim._

_Where the hell did Max go? He went off to Spooky Island and hasn’t been back for days. I’m starting to get worried. Gwen and Quartermaster went to go find him but they came back without him. Quartermaster couldn’t even find him, and he knows the island better than anyone!_

_Daniel came back. Max and David teamed up with the Wood Scouts and actually tricked Daniel into going to Antarctica. He might be an ass, but goddamn is Max clever._

_August 12th, 2016_

‘ _Oh, this one’s dated_.’

_It’s Max’s birthday. Me and Nikki spent all night last night decorating the Mess Hall. I’ve been planning this for weeks! We strung up blue streamers and set up confetti cannon-things. I convinced Gwen to drive me and Nikki to the city to get something for Max yesterday… we got him some fingerless gloves and a polaroid camera. He mentioned one night how he thought photography was cool and how he liked the way polaroid pictures looked. I asked my dad for the money and I’m really fucking happy he agreed. Max’s reaction was amazing! He hugged us! He never hugs anyone! As soon as he figured out how to take a proper photo he took one of us. As for the fingerless gloves, he had mumbled to himself one night that he wished he had some. Max found out that I’m the one who orchestrated the party and he gave me another hug!! A longer one!! I don’t know why I’m so happy over that._

Neil skimmed through a few pages.

_August 26th, 2016_

_I can’t believe camp ends tomorrow. I don’t want to leave. I don’t think it’s about leaving the place, I think it’s about leaving the people._

The rest of the page was his final thoughts on everyone. A couple of them, like Ered and Nerris, were rather similar to his first thoughts. Then there was Harrison and Nurf, who’s descriptions were vastly different then the first ones. 

Then there was Nikki and Max. 

_Nikki. She’s joyful, quirky, and childlike. She hasn’t changed much, except maybe grown up a bit. I never understood “you feel like a sister to me” until I met her. If our parents actually did get together, I could totally see her as that older sister who would stand up to her younger brother’s bullies. I’m older than her, but still. She was the first person I felt relatively close to. She’s just really… friendly? I think friendly is the word. At the same time, she’s aggressive and rough. Honestly just a good person to be friends with._

The next two pages were filled with adventures and favorite sayings and moments with his sister. After searching for a good minute, Neil found Max’s pages. 

_Max. Where do I even begin with him? He’s smart, aggressive, mature, pessimistic, manipulative… and I’ll throw fucking adorable into the mix because why the hell not. I’m half-asleep and I feel like that time Max and I stole some of Campbell’s vodka. There’s something about him that makes my chest tighten every time I see him. I feel like I’m about to have a panic attack, but I never do._

Neil paused. He read over the last few lines again, his brain trying to understand what the younger Neil meant. 

_Despite what everyone else thinks, he’s a good kid. An asshole, yeah, but there’s a ton of good in there. I have a lot of memories with him. We wanted to get away from everyone so we went into the woods and found a cliffside. We climbed a little bit of it and found a crack in the wall. We went through and found a cave that led to an opening with a waterfall. Both of us had agreed not to tell anybody else about that spot, not even Nikki. It’s our secret. He can knit. Really well, actually. He made a blanket and gave everyone a doll of themselves. I’m taking his with me though because apparently he can’t take his home. He gave me a tree branch covered in Christmas lights (after he chased me with it, that is) and a block of sunstone with my name carved in it. He and Nikki made me a scrapbook. It has a ton of pictures Max, David, Gwen, and Dolph took. Max gave me a bracelet with my name on it, too. He’s very adamant on it not being a friendship bracelet._

The nerd sat up and looked behind his headboard. The woven bracelet was still there. 

_He can dance. Really damn well, too. I find myself thinking about that night after the Summer Social. A part of me wants to dance with Max again. Which is weird. I don’t find myself wanting to dance with any of the other people I danced with that night. Just Max. Sometimes, Max would have a nightmare. Well, according to him he has them frequently, I just don’t witness them. Those nights, the only way for him to go back to sleep is if I’m next to him. His bear is actually really fluffy._

_“FUCK!” Max sat upright in his bed, sweat pouring down his face and his breathing sporadic._

_Neil sat upright, too. He turned to Max, knowing what was coming._

_Max caught his breath and put his hands over his eyes. He leaned back, not caring that his head missed his pillow completely._

_“...you okay?” Neil tentatively called over._

_“Shit.” Max hissed. His hands left his eyes as he turned his head. “Did I wake you up?”_

_“No. No, you didn’t.” Neil swung his legs over the side of the cot. “Wanna talk about it?”_

_“No.” Max huffed. He always said no._

_Neil sighed. “It’s healthy to-”_

_“I don’t fucking give a shit, Neil.” There was no venom to his voice, only tiredness._

_The nerd frowned. He wished he was able to read Max’s mind. “Mine or yours?”_

_The younger boy thought about it for a moment. “Yours.” He sat up, dragging his blanket and bear over with him to Neil’s cot. Neil pulled his legs back up and scooted to the side, allowing Max to have room._

_Max wrapped his blanket around himself and recklessly fell onto the cot. The two boys faced each other, Max’s bear between them. “This is… what… the fifth time?” Neil absently played with Max’s hair._

_“I think so.” Max mumbled, his face buried in the bear. “Probably won’t be the last.”_

_“...if I’m not awake when you have a nightmare, you can always just lay next to me, you know that, right? I won’t question it.”_

_Max nuzzled his face further into his bear. “No, ’s okay.”_

Neil hugged one of his pillows.

 _It’s really fucking weird. Like, I get all tense when he’s around. I don’t get like that when Preston’s near me. Not when Nerris is near me. Not even when Nikki is near me. So why only him? His eyes were always kinda distracting (because they’re a sort of odd color), but recently they’ve been extremely distracting. Nikki’s eyes are a strange color, but I don’t feel peculiarly drawn to them. Like, he’ll be saying something and I just stop paying attention and I don’t know why. He’ll smile and I’ll feel all weird._

Neil paused. He sat up, basically staring a hole into the page. “What the fuck is this about?”

_Besides that though, he’s really schemey. I’m really damn sure that everyone hates it when the three of us are together. I remember Gwen watching us while we were counting ants. We were counting ants! Though, the second Gwen took her eyes off us, we gathered up a bunch of the ants and dumped them in a plastic box for Gwen to open in the Mess Hall. Animal cruelty at it’s finest, but it was worth it when the three of us hid in the pantry and heard her angrily stomping around trying to find us. Had it coming._

_August 27th, 2016_

_I’m home. Nikki had the genius idea of exchanging numbers and such. While not everyone had their own personal phone, we all still exchanged numbers. Max, Nerris, Preston, Harrison, Nikki, Ered, and me are the only people with our own devices. Max and Nerris are the only one with smartphones, though. Nerris asked if we all had computers and it turned out pretty much everyone had one. She told everyone to get something called Discord. I’m gonna make an account later. Besides that, I texted Max the moment I stepped inside my house._

**Are you home yet?**

**Max: yes**

**Max: but i can’t talk rn**

**Oh, okay. Text me when you can?**

**Max: will do**

_Kind of disappointed I can’t talk to him right now. He left in a white limo-looking car. He seemed… anxious? While we were waiting for our parents to show up, he held my hand. He said I looked nervous. I felt even more anxious but at the same time I felt relaxed? Then Max’s parents came and I’m pretty sure he squeezed my hand. I felt weird. I still feel weird._

Neil ran a hand through his hair. What did his past self mean by all of that? The way Neil described his friend sounded as if he had something like an infatuation or crush on… him. 

_Oh._

The boy’s eyes widened comedically. ‘ _Oh shit_.’ 

No. No, that… that wasn’t it. There was no way Neil would have a… _thing_ for his best friend! That’s… impossible. Sure, Neil would admit, Max is cute. His hands feel nice. He’s funny in his own way. But that didn’t mean Neil liked him! Not like that. But… but if he did, that was the past. He doesn’t like him like that now.

...right?

Neil pulled a pillow over his face and groaned. With the pillow still on his face, he blindly reached over for his phone. Once he knew he had it, he tossed the pillow across the bed. The nerd moved to unlock his phone, but paused at his lockscreen. It had been the same photo ever since he had gotten his smartphone. It was a photo of everyone sitting by the bonfire. Everyone was in frame, but the trio and David were in the center. Max had his arm around Neil’s shoulders, Neil’s hand was on Max’s hip, David was ruffling Max’s hair, and Nikki looked like she was cheering. The other kids were doing their own things, all smiling at the camera. 

Neil blinked, then unlocked his device. Maybe endlessly scrolling through Instagram would ease his mind. The boy noticed there had been six people who texted him. Neil looked at said DM’s. They were either memes or one of those chain posts. Exiting out of the last DM, he couldn’t help but notice that Max was actually online. ‘ _Don’t think about him. You don’t like him like that._ ’ 

Neil started to scroll through his suggested, but he quickly found that he couldn’t go three posts without somehow relating it to Max. 

‘ _This is impossible_.’

And as if things couldn’t get any worse…

**Max: bro i thought u were asleep**

“Of course…” Neil felt his heart jump. ‘ _Why_.’

**Sun, Sep 22, 4:58 AM**

**Couldn’t sleep.**

**Max: nightmare?**

**No.**

**You?**

**Max: couldn’t sleep**

**Max: not a nightmare**

**Max: i’ve been scrolling through instagram for a while, lmao**

**Max: it gets really boring after midnight**

**Max: hey r u alright?**

**Yeah, I’m okay.**

**Max: u sure**

**Max: ur kinda quiet**

**I don’t know honestly.**

**Max: oh**

**Max: well i’m here if you need to talk.**

**Is that a period?**

**Max: uh huh**

**Max: but seriously, if you wanna talk i’m here.**

**I’ve just been thinking a bit. Nothing big or serious.**

There was a brief pause.

**Max: okay**

**Max: well**

**Max: while i was browsing the instagrams, i found sasha’s account**

**Max: dude she’s dating pikeman**

**Max: i feel fuckin proud**

**Why do you feel proud??**

**Max: idk i got romance vibes from them in the little time i spent with them**

Shit, “romance.” Neil didn’t quite want to talk about that right now.

**Max: are tabii and billy together?**

**Maybe?**

**Max: wait**

**Max: is she with erin?**

**Max: wait no**

**Max: they’re just friends**

**Max: i think**

**Max: i don’t know why the fuck is her insta so fucking confusing**

**Are you frustrated?**

**Over an Instagram page?**

**Max: i think so**

**Max: hey this might be random,**

**Max: but wanna video chat?**

**Why?**

**Max: idk i’m bored and my fingers hurt from typing**

“Couldn’t… hurt, I guess.” Neil slowly moved off his bed and towards the computer desk he had. It was to the left of his study desk. 

**Sure.**

**Max: aight hold on**

**Max: do u have hangouts?**

**Yes.**

**Max: perfect i’ll call u**

Neil dragged his rolling chair to the other desk. He logged on and opened a tab for Hangouts. He waited for Max to call. 

Once he did, Neil found himself hesitating to click the answer button. 

Eventually, he clicked it and was met with Max in a dark room. His right eye was uncovered and he was wearing a long-sleeved black top. “Hey.” He nodded.

“Hi.” Neil felt his face become hot. ‘ _What the fuck is going on_.’

“You alright? You look red.” ‘ _Fuck he noticed._ ’

Neil shrugged. “It’s kinda hot in my room. Dad forgot to turn up the AC.”

“Ouch. God, I hate it when that happens.” 

Neil observed Max’s surroundings. “Is that your room?”

Max looked around his room. “Uh, yeah.”

From what Neil could see, there were big and small guitars- ukuleles?- hanging on the wall to his left. They all looked different. 

Max seemed to notice Neil staring at his wall. “Oh, yeah, uh, told you. I have a ton of guitars.” He turned to them. “There’s two acoustics, two ukeleles, an electric and a bass.” He turned back to the screen. “There’s a lot more out of frame.”

“Damn… can you play any other instruments?”

Max nodded. “Piano,” he counted on his fingers, “violin, viola… pretty much almost every instrument in the string family… I can play brass and woodwinds but I prefer string.”

Neil set his elbow on his desk. “What about drums?”

“Haven’t played them in a long time. But, I should be able to play them.” The black-haired boy shrugged. 

“Do you sing?”

“Uh... yes.” He saw a smile form on Neil’s face. “Don’t tell anyone, and don’t you _dare_ ask me to sing.”

Neil fake pouted. “Aw…”

There were few beats of silence. “Do you…” Neil started. “Do you still dance?”

“Sort of?” Max replied. “I’ll kinda dance to some songs. Why?”

“I dunno.” Neil hummed. “I just thought of that time we danced in the Mess Hall, so I just wanted to know if you still danced.”

“Oh. Okay.” Max leaned back in his chair and propped his leg up. “Did you pull any pranks while I was gone?”

“Not really? Well, not at school. There was once a group of kids who were bullying Space Kid and Nurf was out of town, so the rest of us banded together to do this whole prank against them.”

Max cocked his head, intrigued. “And what was the prank?”

“Uh, well, one of the kids lived next to Nerris, so she and Nikki basically stalked and messed with them. I hacked their stuff and we found what they were afraid of. Used that against them.”

“Did they know that it was you?”

“Eventually, yeah. They couldn’t prove it to the authorities, so we got off scot-free.” 

“Good for you.” Max snickered. “We should do more stuff.”

“Like what?”

Max shrugged. “I’ve been trying to plot something against Janise.”

“Janise? Who’s that?”

“The girl who wrote ‘you’re hot’ on that paper.”

“Oh, yeah, what have you come up with?”

Max seemed to reach over for a paper. “Well, I learned she has a boyfriend across the country. Pretty sure he doesn’t know about all the cheating she’s doing. I was thinking we get pictures or video evidence.”

“Of what? Her fucking some dude?” Disgust was carried in Neil’s voice. 

The black-haired boy shrugged. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“For you, maybe. In all the times I was out during the night- and the day, actually, I saw plenty of people fucking. Think I’ve been desensitized to it.”

“God, I feel bad for you.”

Max sighed. “The city’s a weird place.”

“You live in the city?”

“Lived.” Max corrected. “I’m in a relatively nice neighborhood now. At least the grass is green and the sky’s blue.”

“I remember the city.”

“The best part of it was probably the park, to be honest.”

“No,” Neil disagreed, “I mean, I liked exploring the city, even though everything went terribly wrong.”

“You did?” Max’s face told Neil he didn’t believe him. “I thought it was shit.”

“There were good moments,” Neil defended, “and it was nice to get away from everyone else.”

“We got away from everyone almost every day, Neil.”

Neil sheepishly smiled. “Yeah, but it was in a new environment.”

Max hummed, seemingly in agreement. “I guess it _was_ kinda fun. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the city. I hated it but I oddly miss it.”

“What if me and you went later?” ‘ _Dammit Neil_.’

“Huh?” 

‘ _No backing out of this now_.’ Neil cleared his throat. “What if me and you went to the city?”

Max didn’t answer, instead he stared at the nerd. 

“Or we c-could just not, that’s fine too.” Neil quickly stated.

The black-haired boy blinked. “Wh- oh- oh, uh, no, it’s fine. I’d like that.” 

“O-okay… um, where should we meet?”

Max smiled. “There’s a mall called Colonist Scene. We could start there.”

Neil smiled too. “Start there? What would we do after?”

The Indian shrugged. “There’s a movie theater across the street. If you wanted, we could watch something. I think the second _It_ movie came out earlier this month.” 

Neil slowly nodded. “Yeah, I think we could do that.” 

“Then go from there.” Max spun in his chair. “What time?” Max asked once he was facing Neil again. 

“What time is that movie going to be on?”

“Uh, hold on.” Max pulled his phone out. Neil watched as the boy typed. His gaze found itself staring at Max’s exposed eye. 

‘ _They haven’t changed_.’ He absently smiled. ‘ _Still alluring_.’ 

“There’s a showing at twelve.” Max’s voice pulled Neil out of his daze. “Another at three. Six... every three hours, it seems.”

“Uh... let’s do the one at six.”

“Alright. So, when should we meet?”

Neil thought. “Twelve.” 

“Really? That’s six hours to kill.”

“We’ll find something to do. We always do.”

Max snickered. “You’re right about that.” 

The two smiled at each other for a few moments. 

Max broke the silence. “Uh- so, make sure to bring money. At least twenty.”

“Is that how much the ticket is?” The nerd asked, incredulous. 

“No. But since we’re going to a mall, you might see something you want.”

“Good point.” Neil looked over at his other desk. He kept all his money in a drawer.

Max yawned. “I think we both should try and get some sleep.”

Neil nodded, a sudden wave of exhaustion coming over him. “See you later.”

“See you later.” Max hung up. 

After Neil’s screen turned black, that exhaustion was briefly replaced by a bit of giddiness. His heart was throbbing, but in a good kind of way. 

Neil agreed with Nikki, he did miss Max’s eyes. He agreed with his past self, Max was adorable. He agreed with his present self, Max was cute. Sure, he was kind of hoping he could hold Max’s hand. Sure, there might be a chance he wants to be close to Max. Sure, he wanted to spend some one-on-one time with him. Sure, he could potentially want to tease him. Sure, maybe…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ˙ ͜ʟ˙ It's totally not a date.˙ ͜ʟ˙
> 
> The amount of fluff I'm gonna try to do in the next chapter is... sickening.  
> I've been listening to [Seasons May Change, but Bonds Last Forever](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNH7k7oQ7bo), [Christmas, Christmas (Or Whatever)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcVt6sk7VU0), [I, for One, Welcome Our Robot Overlords](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0A04gwKBdY), [Family Matters](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBBM2h0RWqY), [Gwen Isn't Your Mother so Stop Asking Her to Rinse Your Dishes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEVqVcjA01E), and [This Isn't Goodbye, It's See You Later](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEMNnQwWbFo) a lot lately.


	8. Catching Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey,” He flashed a smile. 
> 
> “Hi.” Neil felt his heart leap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marching Band has been cancelled for the year so that means I'll actually be able to update next month and also I'll get to finally celebrate my birthday stress free :,) I mean, there will be school looming over my head but,,, that doesn't matter right now.  
> Lots of time skips :)  
> Also 3k hits?? What???  
>  _It Chapter Two Spoilers (if you somehow haven't seen the movie??)_

One thing Neil forgot about was transportation. 

Both of his parents were at work and it wasn’t like he could drive. 

Oh well.

**10:22 AM**

Staring into the mirror in his parents room like his life depended on it, the boy tugged on the hem of his shirt. “Is this too… fancy?” He was wearing a black denim jacket and a monarch orange long-sleeved shirt underneath along with black jeans. 

He knew he shouldn’t be getting worked up over his appearance, he was just hanging out with Max and there was absolutely no reason to be nervous or overly excited. 

“Maybe the jacket’s a bit much…” Neil frowned. 

_“Sorry.” Neil slumped against a tree, Max next to him playing on David’s phone._

_“Eh, it’s fine. Everyone’s an ignorant asshole at some point.”_

_“I should just…” Neil kicked the dirt in front of him, “not try to be something I’m not. I’ll always be a loser.”_

_Max paused his game and set the phone down, turning his attention to the sulking boy. “Well…” he started, “if it makes you feel better, at least you looked like a non-loser.”_

_Neil chuckled. “Really?”_

_“Really. I think it was the jacket and shades.”_

Neil huffed, looking at himself again. “No, the jacket’s fine.” He fixed his sleeves and ran back to his room, grabbing his old, but still usable, pair of sunglasses. He stood before the mirror, instantly cringing when he saw himself. He took the shades off. “Yeah, those… _those_ are too much.” He stuffed them in his jacket pocket. 

He ran his hands through his hair, careful not to mess it up. Why did he care about his hair?

**10:31 AM**

Neil had well over a thousand dollars saved over the years. He kept it all in a locked drawer since Candy and Nikki moved in. 

He opened the drawer and counted about three-hundred. Sure, that was probably way too much, but Neil just felt like he needed to take it. Maybe he’d see something for Dolph for his birthday?

**10:51 AM**

_‘Phone, portable charger, money… sunglasses?’_ The nerd was making sure he had everything. _‘Sure, keep the glasses… uh… oh, keys!’_ He swiped his hanging key and trotted down the stairs. He wasn’t quite sure where Nikki was, but maybe he could leave without-

“Where are you going?” 

Neil winced and turned around, seeing his sister on the couch, eating a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. “Out.”

“Ooh, where?” 

Neil rocked on his heels. “I just wanna get out.”

“Can I join you?”

“No.” Neil answered a little too quickly. Nikki tilted her head in confusion. 

“Why not?”

“Kinda… wanna be alone.”

Nikki frowned. “Oh.” She took a spoonful of cereal. “When are you coming back?”

“Not sure.” _That_ wasn’t a lie. 

Nikki hummed. “Okay. Well, hope you have fun!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Neil mumbled, quickly shuffling out of the front door. Sometimes he was grateful Nikki was a passive person.

He and Max had agreed to meet at the food court at roughly twelve. If Neil was quick, he’d hopefully be there in time. Neil pulled his phone out and popped his headphones in, contemplating which playlist he should play. There was the one that helped him sleep, the “emo” one, his favorites, and other saved playlists from his friends. Oh, and the “Max” playlist.

The last time Neil played that was on Max’s fourteenth birthday. A way to kinda celebrate. 

With a small smile, Neil tapped the playlist and let the music go. He switched over to Google Maps for directions. Hopefully he won’t get lost.

* * *

**11:47 AM**

Thank everything that there were buses. 

**Max: are u there yet?**

**No. Almost.**

**Max: ok good**

**Max: i’m maybe ten min away**

**I think I’m five?**

**Max: oh**

**Max: hey there’s a cafe in the mall go nab a seat by that when u get there**

**Okay.**

Neil leaned his head against the window, seeing what the map said was the mall. His heart started pounding. It wasn’t a panic attack. He knew what those felt like. 

The bus came to a stop and Neil moved up to get off. He looked up at the building, suddenly wishing Max was already there. He hated large crowds. 

Trying not to seem awkward (though, who’d be looking at him?), Neil observed his surroundings. He quickly spotted the cafe Max was talking about. Slipping in, he noted that not too many people were inside. He found a table and sat. 

**Got a table. How far are you?**

**Max: maybe three? not sure**

“Hey,” Neil looked up, making eye contact with a woman with short blonde hair. “Can I get you anything?”

 _‘A waitress.’_ Neil blinked. “Uh…” _‘Max_ is _gonna be here soon…’_ “yeah- sure, uh, two black coffees.”

The waitress’ (Ivy, as her name tag says) eyebrow quirked up. “Two?”

“I have a, uh, friend coming.” Why’d he hesitate?

“Mm.” Ivy wrote it down. “Anything else?”

 _‘What does Max like?’_

_“Why the fuck does all the food suck here.” Max poked the ‘chocolate chip muffin’ in his hands. A part of it broke off, revealing mold. “Fuckin’ disgusting. Why’d I get my hopes up?”_

_“Dunno.” Nikki said, mouth full with the ‘muffin’ she had gotten. Max chucked his muffin across the room and Nikki scrambled after it._

_Max and Neil stared at her._

_“She’s gonna get food poisoning.”_

_“Oh, totally.”_

“A chocolate chip and an apple-cinnamon muffin.” 

“Alrighty.” Ivy left the boy.

**Max: here**

Neil smiled, his eyes trailing over to the entrance. Eventually, he saw Max emerge from the crowd. He wasn’t wearing a hoodie, instead he had a baby blue denim jacket over a crimson shirt. The boy quickly spotted his friend and hurried over. “Hey,” He flashed a smile. 

“Hi.” Neil felt his heart leap. He noticed Max wearing the fingerless gloves he had gotten him for his eleventh birthday. 

“On my way here, I had, like, whiplash, or something.” He slid into the chair. “It’s been almost a year since I’ve been here.” 

Neil snorted. “I’ve _never_ been here before.”

“Guess I’ll be your guide.”

“Guess you will be.”

Max played with his hands. “There’s a _Bath & Bodyworks_ nearby.” He met Neil’s confused expression. “I kinda wanna get something from there. Like a candle.”

“Candles? Does that place have candles?”

Max nodded. “Yeah. Or, well, it should. My, uh, dad is gung-ho on having candles for holidays. Mom likes the winter stuff and… her birthday’s coming up.” He shrugged. “Figured I could get gifts now.”

 _‘Parents.’_ Neil frowned at the thought. “You…” The boy started slowly, unsure of how to approach it. “Uh, you never said that much about your parents… um, if you don’t mind me asking, what’re they like?”

Neil could’ve sworn Max’s lips twitched into either a smile or a frown for a second. “Well,” Max leaned back in his chair. “Dad’s a pretty positive guy. Kind of loud, too. I often wonder if that man ever sleeps. Mom’s kind of laid back. She’s a bit more negative. And a bitch. It’s easier to relate to her.”

Neil blinked. He… was not expecting that. “Really?” _‘But the abuse…? ...maybe they’re nice on the outside but sick, twisted, abusive assholes on the inside? ’_

“Uh huh.” Max affirmed. “You seem shocked.”

Neil shook his head. “It’s just… I don’t know. I think it’s because you are, or, _were_ , a really pessimistic person and hearing that your dad is this really cheerful guy… I- I don’t know.”

“Oh.”

Before either boy could continue the conversation, the waitress came back over, two coffees and two muffins in hand. She set one coffee in front of Neil and the other in front of Max. A small plate was placed between them. Ivy smiled at the boys before leaving.

“What.” Max blankly stared at the stuff before him.

Neil felt his anxiety spike. “You were gonna be here soon… and I figured… why not?”

Max reached out to take the chocolate one. “Okay, be honest with me, did you randomly choose a chocolate chip one?”

“No.”

“You actually fucking remembered?”

A smile tugged at the nerd’s lips. “Yeah.”

“Jesus fuck.” Maybe Neil’s eyes were playing tricks on him, but he swore Max’s face had a tint of red. The younger boy took a small bite, then a sip of coffee. “...thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

* * *

**12:42 PM**

“What do you think of this one?” 

Neil turned to see Max holding a blue candle labeled _Sweater Weather_. “It’s pretty.” He shrugged as Max tugged the top off. 

Max sniffed it, his face neutral. Just before Neil was about to ask if the boy was okay, Max shoved the candle in Neil’s face. 

“I-” He inhaled the scent. “Uh... it… it’s nice.”

“I don’t know.” Max stared down at it. “I want it to be really good for her.”

Neil thought for a second. “What does your mom like?”

“Purple,” The Indian counted, “pumpkin, cherry… a lot of food related ones. Not a fan of vanilla.” The boy put the blue candle back. “Anyway,” Max whirled around. “Oh, hey,” He spotted a display of red candles and trotted over to them. 

Neil tore his eyes away from the kid and looked at the display in front of him. There was a scent of _Watermelon Lemonade._ Nikki liked both watermelon and lemonade, so maybe she’d like that? Or…

A devious grin came to Neil’s face as he eyed _Pretty as a Peach_. Ered’s favorite fruit was a peach. “Let’s get… both.” The boy turned, quickly finding that Max had moved and was now by a display of brown candles. “Hey,”

Max noticeably jumped. “Shit-!” He almost dropped whatever he was holding. 

“Sorry!” Neil’s hands moved to catch whatever fell, despite nothing falling. 

“No, no, it’s okay. Just got startled.” Max sheepishly said. He put one of the brown candles down. 

Neil read the label. _Cinnamon Spiced Vanilla_. “Huh.” Neil reached out and popped the lid off. He smelled it and smiled. Honestly, he’d love to have it. 

Despite that, he put it back. 

“What’re those?” Max pointed to the bottles in Neil’s hand. 

“For Nikki. One for her to enjoy, one to attract a certain skateboard-riding gal.”

“I like where your head is.” Max held a sly look. 

“Thanks.”

* * *

**1:07 PM**

“Look at this!” Max held two Funko Pops. One of Richie Tozier, and one of Eddie Kaspbrak. “Have you ever seen the first It?”

“We watched it at one of Space Kid’s sleepovers. Why?”

“What’d you think of them?” Max pushed the two boxes towards the taller male. 

Neil held the boxes, making sure they wouldn’t fall. “Uh, I mean, I like them? Richie at the end was cool… Eddie standing up to his mom was neat.”

Max suddenly pulled the figures back towards them. “You know what would’ve made the movie better?” 

“What?”

“If these two losers actually got together.”

“Why would they get together? They’re just friends.”

“You-” The shorter boy seemed shocked. “They’re clearly gay for each other!”

Neil frowned. “I saw them more as close friends… brothers, if anything.”

“ _Oh my god,_ your gaydar is terrible.”

* * *

**1:59 PM**

Neil’s phone started vibrating. Taking it out of his pocket, he looked down at the screen and had never wanted to hit himself so hard. 

He forgot to tell his parents. 

‘ _Dumbass_.’

Hesitantly, Neil clicked to accept the video call.

“Uh… hi, Dad.”

**“Where are you?”**

“The mall.”

**“The mall? Why? Are you there alone?”**

“No. I’m, um, with Max.”

Max suddenly pressed himself against Neil’s shoulder, his face barely in frame. “Hi.” 

**“Son, you should’ve told us!”**

Neil cringed. “I forgot, I’m sorry.” No doubt, he was going to get grounded.

 **“I…”** Carl sighed. **“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”** He paused. **“Well, have fun. Love you.”** He hung up.

Neil blinked. ‘ _When I get home, I’m so boned._ ’

“You didn’t tell them you were coming?” Max pulled the taller boy out of his forming anxiety attack.

“I forgot to. Nikki doesn’t know where I am, either.”

“You just… _left_?” 

“Well, Nikki knew I was _leaving_. She just didn’t know _where_.”

To Neil’s surprise, Max smiled and playfully elbowed the other boy. “Sneaky bastard.”

“It wasn’t really ‘sneaky’.” The nerd shrugged.

“Eh, I’d say it was kinda sneaky.”

* * *

**2:36 PM**

“I once went a whole year without ice cream.” The Indian nibbled at the brownie chunks in the chocolate sweet in his hands. “Worst year of my life.”

Neil pulled his legs up on the bench they were sitting on, careful not to drop the caramel and toffee infested ice cream. “Space Kid always has fudgesicles at his house.”

“Next time you go over, smuggle me one.” 

Neil laughed. “It’ll probably melt by then.”

“Throw it out the kitchen window. I’ll catch it.”

“You don’t even know where he lives.”

“Winnie Lane. 199161, yeah?”

“...yeeeaaah. How the hell did you know that?”

“I got a few messages every now and then, remember? His address was one of them.”

Neil swallowed. “Did…” He tried to choose his words right. “Did you ever try to go there?”

The younger male paused, causing Neil to immediately regret asking. “I… did. Never managed to get there, though.” He licked a trail of melting chocolate. “Honestly, though, I have no idea what I was gonna do if I did end up at his front door. I think the reason I was so… _determined_ to get there was because I wanted to let you all know that I… I guess that I wasn’t actively trying to ghost you.” Max offered an awkward smile. “Tried to figure out where you guys lived. Never did.” 

“Can… I ask you another question?”

“Go for it.”

“Did you ever see any of us in public?”

Max took a second to think. “I did… I saw Preston. Don’t… I don't remember where, but I do remember seeing him a couple times.”

“Did you try to interact with him?”

“Truthfully? No. Didn’t really have a… proper opportunity to.”

“That sucks.”

“It really did. I was so close, yet so far.”

* * *

**2:47 PM**

“I can’t believe you convinced me to get fuckin’ Starbucks.” Max blew on his drink as the pair sat on a bench. 

“I didn’t. I said I was thirsty, you made a joke- stop giving me that look,- then you suggested Starbucks. I just agreed.”

Max carefully sipped on his coffee. “Tastes like shit.” 

Neil scoffed. “ _Please_ , you like it.” 

Max scowled. Or, tried to. “No I don’t.” He hid behind his cup.

“You’re smiling.”

“I hate you.”

“Mm… no you don’t. You wouldn’t have agreed to hang out if you did.”

The younger boy grumbled a few words. “...you think Nikki would want makeup?”

“She’s Nikki, what do you think?”

Max swirled his cup. “Yeah, but, isn’t Homecoming soon?”

Neil blinked. “Uh, yes. Are you planning to go?”

“Hell no.” His response was quick. “Dances suck ass.”

“But _you_ dance. Remember post-social?”

“Let me rephrase it, then. I hate public dances.” The Indian paused. “Are _you_ going?”

Neil shrugged as he took a sip. “I don’t think so. The 8th grade dance was really boring, so why would this one be any different? I don’t like to be in big crowds by myself, anyway.”

“But you’d be with the others, wouldn’t you?”

“Eh,” The taller boy shrugged again. “Nikki’d be off with some of her other friends or trying to get Ered’s attention, Nurf’s currently dating someone, so he’d be with that guy, Preston’ll be off doing whatever with whoever, Dolph and Space Kid will go and do their own thing, Ered has a group of friends she hangs out with, and Nerris and Harrison are gonna be dancing. Besides, things are tense between Nerris and Nikki right now and no one wants to deal with bullshit on what’s supposed to be a fun night.” 

Max quietly drank his coffee. “When’s the dance?”

Neil searched through his mind. “Uhh… the 4th.”

“Is that a Friday?”

“Um…” Neil counted the days. “Yes.”

“If we’re both not going to the dance… wanna hang out that night? Help Nikki dress to impress?”

Neil snickered. “‘Dress to impress’?” 

“Uh huh. That’s why I wanted to know if Nikki would want makeup. Does she have a dress yet?”

“She’s still searching.” Neil hummed. “She’s found a couple she likes, but she’s still holding out hope to find the ‘perfect one’.”

Max thought for a second. “Homecoming’s in… two weeks?” Neil nodded. “I could try to make something for her.”

“Make?”

Black hair bobbed. “I can sew. I’m not as good at it as knitting, but I can do it.”

“Don’t you need, like, measurements?”

The shorter boy simpered. “You could get the measurements, couldn’t you?”

“W-Well, that would be weird if I asked her what her measurements were. Plus, I don’t think _she_ knows what her measurements are.”

Max sipped. “I guess _I_ could just ask her tomorrow.”

“Yeah, you could.”

“But, like, when?” Max asked to really no one in particular. 

“After class.” Neil suggested. “We could bring her to the storage room.”

“We _could_. I have the measuring stuff from making myself a- uh…”

“A what?” Why’d Max suddenly stop?

“A thing.” The boy spat.

“A thing?”

Max seemed to stare at Neil for a couple seconds. “Onesie.”

Neil choked. “A onesie?” He smiled, about to laugh.

“It was for a dumb ‘matching clothes’ thing! Now shut the fuck up and never bring this up again.” Max haphazardly scarfed down the rest of his drink, throwing (and making) it into the trashcan behind him. “So,” He leaned close to Neil. “I was thinking of a pink and green dress. Pink for Ered and green for Nikki. Plus, the pink could bring out Nikki’s eyes.”

“Nikki’d want a shorter dress, right? Like above the knees?” He waited for Neil to nod. “What about sequins? I might be able to add those… I might be getting too enthusiastic about this…” He rubbed at the nape of his neck. “Uh, what kind of neckline do you think she’d want?”

“Her last dress had spaghetti straps. She complained about them a lot, though.”

“Mm… I don’t want to do sleeveless…” Max put both hands in a finger gun position and pressed them together. “You think she’d like illusion?” 

“What’s that?”

Max quickly pulled his phone out and went to Google. “This,” He flipped through a couple pictures, all of which seemed to be women in wedding dresses. “Add a kind of choker to it?”

Neil envisioned the dress. “I think it’d look good.” 

Max grinned. “I think light makeup would work best with it. Then again, Nikki doesn’t even like makeup... a blank face wouldn’t really make a difference.” He went on, basically talking Neil’s ear off about all his ideas. Three years ago, Neil would’ve thrown a pillow at Max to get him to shut up (which would trigger a pillow fight), but now he felt captivated by the way Max passionately spoke about his interest. Back then, Max never really talked about himself. 

* * *

**3:42 PM**

“God, look at all these colors.” Max muttered, reaching out to feel the different fabrics. “What do you think about this?” He held up a green fabric labeled _Medium Spring Green._

“It’ll probably go with her hair.” Neil shrugged. He didn’t have an artistic eye. He considered asking Max to ask Dolph. 

“I think it’s light enough.” Max scurried off to the pink section. 

Neil’s phone buzzed.

**Ikk: u have been gone for six hours**

_‘And I’ll be gone for another five.’_ Neil left her on read and joined Max over by the pinks. The boy was holding the green cloth next to every shade of pink. He paused at _Flamingo_. “Yes.” He squeaked, hurriedly reaching for it. “White at the top could work…” 

“You’re really ardent about this, huh?”

“You’re absolutely fucking right.” Max backed away from the wall of fabrics. “Honestly, I’ve always wanted to sew a dress like this.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Never had a reason.” The Indian shrugged. 

* * *

**5:32 PM**

“You think the movie theater will let us take this in?” 

“No. Definitely no.” Neil stared down at the reusable bag (that they had bought) in his hand.

Max pursed his lips, an idea popping. “What if we sneak in?”

“What?”

“Sneak into the theater. Like, don’t even buy tickets. Just straight up sneak in.”

Neil shook his head. “That’s crazy.”

“But it’s possible!” Max grinned. “If the theater is busy, we could do the bathroom trick!”

“Bathroom trick?”

Max nodded. “It’s where you go to the bathroom and join the crowd when you come out.”

Neil tightened his grip on the bag in his hand. “...we won’t get caught?”

“I mean, there’s a chance we could.” Max hummed. “And if we do, we’ll just not see the movie today. It’s not that big a deal.”

 _‘I really do want to see this movie with him…’_ The nerd gathered as much courage as possible. He’d never snuck into a theater before. “Okay. Let’s try it.”

A wide smile appeared on Max’s face. “Follow me.” He lightly tugged on Neil’s arm.

* * *

**5:48 PM**

“You think it worked?” Neil whispered as the two sat down in some open seats towards the back of the theater. 

“We’ll find out. I’d say give it twenty minutes in to know for sure.” Max took the bags and stuffed them underneath the chair. “Kinda wish we could get popcorn.”

“I could go get some.” Neil spoke without thinking.

“Huh?”

“The movie hasn’t started yet. I could go get some… we’re already in here, so we’ve past the ticket check.”

The Indian tapped his fingers on the armrest. “If you want to.”

Neil smiled. “I’ll be back.”

* * *

**9:01 PM**

“I’m so conflicted.” Max mumbled as the duo strolled out of the theater. “Like, I liked the movie, but I hated it.”

“What about it did you not like?” Neil inquired.

“Well, for one, they fucking killed Eddie. Right in front of Richie, too.” The younger boy seemed to realize something. “Also, I fucking told you. They were gay for each other.”

Neil sighed. “Yeah, yeah, stop rubbing that in my face.” Max had whisper-shouted at Neil when the scene with Richie carving his and Eddie’s initials in the fence came on. He loved to be right.

Something Neil wished he remembered was how he was a pussy when it came to horror films. He had never jumped so hard in his life until the scene in the funhouse. He instinctively latched onto Max’s arm and buried his face into his shoulder when the clown popped through the glass. Max had only laughed at the nerd’s reaction. 

Max opened the mall door. Both boys stepped out and took in a breath of the crisp air. There were a few beats of silence before Max lightly nudged Neil’s arm. “Wanna do one last thing for the night?”

Neil blinked. “Uh… depends on what that is.”

“Wellll…” Max drawled. “There’s a diner near that Starbucks…”

“Is it even open?

“Should be.”

The taller boy checked his phone. It was rather late and it was a school night. He could already see the texts from his father about getting home and there were a few from Nikki. Neil figured he was already in trouble from earlier when his dad called him… what’s a little more trouble?

“Yeah.” Neil breathed. “Fuck yeah, let’s go.”

Max grinned. “How pissed do you think your old man is gonna be?”

“Very.” Neil hummed. “But… today’s been fun. I’d rather have maybe a month of being grounded than not doing this.”

A chortle. “Nikki was, well, _trying_ to text me earlier. She asked if I knew where you were.”

“What’d you say?”

“Said you were at the mall.” Max shrugged. “Didn’t say _I_ was with you though.”

“Oh god, she’s gonna be all on my case.” The taller boy groaned. “Just like when I went to the park for an hour.”

“An hour?” Max snickered. “What’s she gonna be like now that you’ve been gone for, like, what, ten, eleven hours?”

“Maybe she’ll be asleep by then.” Neil could only hope.

They crossed the street. “What about your guys’ mom?”

Neil coughed. “Uh, one, she’s not my mom.” He held up a finger. “Two,” another digit, “she honestly won’t care. She… well, she _was_ kinda neglectful.” Neil could sense Max tense up. “But now I think she’s getting better. For one, she knows what Nikki’s doing and actually keeps track of a bunch of things she does.” Neil looked down and fiddled with his hands. “I guess her and my dad getting together had some pluses.” 

“...like?” Max pressed. 

“Dad’s less strict. Candy cares. And there’s Nikki. She… kept me in check, I guess. Made sure I didn’t accidentally kill myself.” Max tensed even more. “She’s surprisingly nurturing. I honestly think she’d be a great mo-”

“Okay.” Max suddenly spoke. “Uh…” They crossed another street. “Hey, ever killed anyone?”

Neil choked. “Wh-what?”

“Ever killed anyone?” Max repeated. “Or, almost?”

_‘What a weird subject change.’_ “N-No? The fuck kind of question is that?”

Max shrugged. “I don’t know. Just a random thought.” 

They crossed the last street. Neil looked up at the sign. _Artie’s Diner_. From what the boy could see, there were a few people inside. 

Max opened the door. “After you, your highness.” He feigned a bow while the bags hung from his wrist. 

_“May I have this dance, your highness?”_

A sly smile formed on Neil’s lips as he walked by. “Why, thank you, peasant.” He noticed how Max seemed to do a double take.

“God, how many of our interactions did you remember?” 

“A lot.” Neil shrugged. “I don’t think I’d ever be able to just forget all those days I spent with you.” He opened the next door. 

“Unless you had alzheimer's disease or something.” 

“Or amnesia.”

“Or that.” 

The pair quickly seized one of the bronze colored booths by the window. “I love the booth seats.” Max sighed as he slipped into the seat. 

“Whenever my family goes to a diner, we always get the normal seats. Something about how my dad doesn’t want people staring at him? I don’t know.”

Max scoffed. “What? Window seats are the fucking best.”

“I know, right?” The two started looking at what they wanted. “Breakfast for dinner?” Neil questioned. 

“Fine by me.” The shorter boy shrugged. “I fucking love French toast.”

Neil suppressed a laugh. A few seconds of silence. “So…” The nerd set the menu aside. “How long have you been doing music?”

Max set his aside, too. “Since I was… what, seven? Started with the violin. David encouraged me to do ukulele.” 

“David knew? Before us?” Faux hurt.

“Motherfucker caught me singing one day.” Max dragged his finger in circles on the grey table. “Somehow, someway, he got me to admit that I played violin.” He looked out the window. “He’s actually the person who gave me my first ukulele.”

Neil nodded his head to allow Max to go on. 

“When I was twelve I was able to hold a guitar without it looking like a fucking titan. Things were humongous.” He stretched his arms out as if to show the length of the instrument. “Wasn’t too long before I got a bass and electric. Still learning on those, though.”

_“I can play brass and woodwinds but I prefer string.”_

“What about the brass and woodwind shit?”

“Honestly couldn’t tell you when each one was. All I know is that all of them were within the span of three years and before I was ten.”

Neil remembered trying out the piano for three months. He sucked at it. 

“Piano?”

“My parents had a piano. I played it when I got bored. The music teacher at my elementary school started to sort of… tutor me, I guess. She was really supportive. She was arrested for drug use.” Max’s fingers rapped the table. “Which sucked because I actually liked her.”

 _‘I don’t want this to seem like an interrogation…’_ Neil sucked in a breath. “How… how was it? Being homeschooled?”

It was as if someone pressed the pause button on Max. 

“I mean,” Neil panicked, “if you’re okay with talking about that, of course. No- uh, no pressure!” His hands were thrown up in defense. 

Max inhaled. “No, no, it’s okay. Uh, being homeschooled…” His fingers were in the form of finger guns while being pressed together. Before Max could get another word in, a male waiter came over. He surveyed the two boys, an odd yet knowing smile seemingly tugging at his lips. He asked what the boys wanted, and swiftly left once the order was complete.

“As I was saying,” Max hummed. “Homeschool was pretty shitty. ‘Cause, well, it was just _me_ and days always felt longer. I couldn’t sleep in or anything. No winter or spring break. Every goddamn day was the same. Get up, get ready, do work, and try your damn hardest not to mess up. It felt like I was in an endless loop because every single fucking day ended the same exact way.” 

“...how’d it end?”

Max only shrugged. He wasn’t going to delve deeper on that. “Besides that, though, there were some good things. Like… I was at home and not in some dirty-ass school.” Another shrug. The tone in his voice told Neil that that wasn’t exactly a plus. “I don’t know. I might hate public school, but it’s a whole lot better than homeschool.”

“Old friend of mine.” Neil started telling his own tale. “She was getting homeschooled.” _‘Don’t press too hard.’_ “She had an okay experience.”

The boy in blue grunted. “Then her parents were good at their job.” 

A few beats of silence. 

“Uh,” Neil began, wanting to steer this into a more positive direction. “So, Dolph’s birthday is coming up.”

“Is that why you were checking out those markers?”

Neil nodded. “Yeah. Every year he basically just gets art stuff.”

“What’s the brand of oil pastels Dolph has?” 

“Uh, Sennelier, I think, why?” 

Max shrugged. “Seemed like good oil pastels. My dad likes using them.”

“Oh.” Neil played with his hands. 

The boys engaged in a few more conversations, most of which were just reminiscing on old times. The waiter eventually came back over with the breakfast items and the boys changed the topic to the present. 

When they were done, Max excused himself to the bathroom. 

While Neil was waiting, the waiter came by. The nerd paid for everything, then awkwardly sat there when the man left. A few moments later, the man came back with the receipt and change. “Keep it.” Neil told him.

The man nodded. “Thanks for dining here tonight.” His nametag said Calum. “Hope you and your boyfriend have a safe night.” 

Neil slowly processed the man’s words. _Boyfriend_. Half of his mind screamed at him to correct the man; they were just friends. But… Max... having the title of his boyfriend? Neil would admit, that made him feel a strange way. No- no wait, they were friends. Only friends. He shouldn’t… there was nothing… no reason… and- uh, um… you know what? Fuck it. “Yeah, thanks.” He offered a smile, one that felt rather confident. 

The man returned said smile before whisking himself away and into the backroom. 

A relieved sigh. “...boyfriend, huh?”

* * *

**10:11 PM**

“Today was fun.” Max shoved his free hand into his pocket when the cold air hit his body. 

“Uh huh.” Neil let go of the handle, following Max as he moved to the sidewalk. The street was strangely empty. 

“So, how are you planning to get home?” The black-haired boy poked Neil’s arm. 

“Honestly, I have no idea.”

“Makes two of us.”

Neil laughed. He wasn’t surprised honestly. 

“Kinda wish we did this on a not-school night.” Max yawned. “God, it would’ve been the best if we could top this off with a sleepover.”

“We had one last night.”

“Yeah, but, it would’ve made today perfect.”

Neil frowned. Yeah, it would be fun if they could top off the whole day with a sleepover. But alas, school was on Monday and today was a Sunday. 

Max stopped underneath a streetlight. “I missed this.”

“Hm?” Neil stopped, too.

“I missed this.” The boy repeated. “Us hanging out.” Neil opened his mouth to make a remark about how he, Max, and Nikki had been hanging out for the past two weeks. “Just us.” _‘Oh.’_

A tiny chuckle escaped the nerd’s throat. “Yeah… I did too.”

Max stepped closer to Neil. “I wish we could go to the waterfall. I wonder if that cliff finally broke.” 

_“Motherfucker!” Max threw another stone and watched as it bounced off the sharp rock._

_“Why are you so determined to break that?” Neil asked, pulling a leaf off of a nearby plant._

_The boy in blue huffed. “There’s something in there.” He pulled on Neil’s wrist. “See?” He pointed to the small crevice between the cliff and the rest of the rock. There was something shiny within the crack._

_Neil shrugged. “Keep throwing rocks at it. Maybe it’ll break.”_

“Did you ever go back?” Max asked. 

The brown-haired boy slowly nodded. “I went a lot. It freaked David and Gwen out when they couldn’t find me.”

‘Just a little more.’ _Neil’s hand blindly grasped for the stone to pull himself up. He maneuvered his way on top of the rock. With a huff, Neil turned on his heel and quickly spotted the crack through the now overgrown plants. He shuffled behind the greenery, careful not to snag anything. He moved in closer, his hands gliding over the smooth stone behind him. He tried not to think about all the spiders and other bugs. Max always told him to pretend that they weren’t there. And to keep his mouth shut. Neil didn’t know what he’d do if an insect got into his mouth._

_After a few minutes, Neil finally saw the light of the waterfall. He moved faster, eager to return to his favorite place. He almost fell when he emerged from the darkness. The boy blinked rapidly, letting his eyes adjust to the sudden change of light. He moved closer to the water, staring down at the drawings the boys had done the year prior with chalk. There was a drawing of everyone at camp. Drawn by Neil and colored by Max. Every single picture the two ever created were still there._

_Neil sighed, then took a seat. The space was faded, making it evident that someone had been there dozens of times. That person was named Neil. He looked over to spot to the right of him. That was also faded, but nobody would be occupying that._

_He wasn’t here._

“Did anyone ever find that place?”

“No.” Neil shook his head. “I don’t think so. David was the closest person to ever find out and, well, we both know what happened.”

“Dumbass.” Max snarked. “You’d think he’d keep checking around that cliff when he saw us climbing it.”

“You would.” Neil halfheartedly shrugged. “He gave us an earful when we got back to camp.”

“I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Neither was I.”

The two were standing rather close to each other. Their eyes (probably) meeting. 

“Would you want to do this again?” The Indian questioned. Neil could see the boy’s hand fidgeting within his pocket. 

“I wouldn’t mind.” Neil smiled. “It’s nice to get away from everything else. Even if it’s for a little while.”

“Yeah.” Max breathed. 

They were mere inches apart, Neil noticed. “Have you ever gone to a diner before school to get breakfast?” 

“Once.”

“What if me, you, and Nikki went to the diner Candy works at? Tomorrow morning?”

Max thought about it. “Uh… yeah, sure. Meet you there at six?”

“Okay.”

“Yeah.”

They were directly under the streetlight. It was almost like a spotlight. A somewhat comfortable silence fell between them. Before either of them really knew it, they were both leaning in towards each other. It was like there was a gravitational pull; like they were magnets whose ends attracted. 

Just as Neil felt his eyes start to flutter close, a loud melody jolted them both out of the mysterious trance. Neil quickly realized it was his phone, and that it was his father calling. “Shit-!” The nerd muttered as he hit the accept. 

**“Do you have any idea what time it is?”** Neil glanced at the clock. It was almost ten thirty. 

“Sorry! I… I lost track of time. We went to see a movie and didn’t realize how long it was.” _Two lies_. 

He heard his father sigh. **“Where are you? I’m coming to pick you up.”**

“I was about to call you anyway…” The brown-haired male mumbled. “I’m near Artie’s Diner.” He watched as Max texted someone. Probably one of his parents. 

**“Don’t go anywhere.”** He hung up.

“Wasn’t planning to.” Neil let his arm fall to his side after sighing heavily. He looked over to see Max leaning against the streetlight pole. He seemed preoccupied with his phone. 

_‘The hell was that?’_ Neil thought back to the events that had happened right before his father called. Was he really about to…? “Uh,” He cleared his throat. “Are you able to get a ride?”

The black-haired male looked up. “Oh, uh, yeah. My mom’s coming.”

The nerd nodded. Another silence filled the air. It wasn’t like the previous one, though. It was sort of… tense. 

“So, diner tomorrow morning?” Max turned his attention back to the phone. 

“Mmhm.”

The only sounds were the crickets and Max’s fingers tapping on his screen. Neil pulled at the hem of his jacket. _‘Do I like him?’_ The thought popped up without warning. Silence was never a good thing for him. It always left him to think about the things he didn’t want to think about. Old interactions from camp entered his mind. The dance, the things Max gave him, the two drawing on the cave walls… 

The more he thought about it, the more he remembered feeling those weird feelings. He remembered when his chest started to tighten. He remembered when- at the time, he didn’t know- his whole life seemed to revolve around this one kid. And science, that too. He was supposed to be smart, right? Why didn’t he realize he liked Max? He knew what it was like to have a crush. The social was proof of that. So… how? It wasn’t like it was internalized homophobia. At least, Neil didn’t think it was. He had a feeling that he was bisexual and he was okay with that. So… there was no way it was some form of homophobia.

Was it him confusing romantic feelings and platonic ones? He had had friends before (albeit, very few that didn’t stay in his circle after elementary). There was Nikki- a very close friend of his. He should’ve been able to differentiate the two different feelings. He should have recognized the crush.

“Hey,” Max’s voice shook him out of his thoughts. “You alright?” Concern laced his voice. Genuine concern. 

“Yeah,” Neil struggled to keep his voice steady, “just tired. It’s been a long day.” He slid down the pole, sitting on the sidewalk. Max followed what he did and sat next to him, their knees almost touching. 

“Well, while we wait…” Max set his phone out in front of him, a _Try Not to Laugh_ compilation ready to play. 

The next twenty minutes or so were of the boys completely failing (not like they were trying) the challenge. At one point, Max had thrown his head back and banged his head on the pole. This caused the two to laugh harder. Between videos, the boys decided to take a couple pictures. They both posted on their respective accounts. Their fun was cut off when they saw headlights. 

Neil recognized the car. “Aw, fuck.”

“Your old man?” 

“Yeah.” The brunet stood and dusted himself off. He helped Max up. “See you tomorrow?”

“Uh huh.” Black hair bobbed. 

The nerd spun around and hesitantly opened the car door. He threw his bag under the glovebox and carelessly threw himself into the passenger seat. 

“Didja have fun?” Not exactly what Neil thought would be the first thing his dad would say.

“Yeah. Lots.”

Just as Carl was about to pull out and continue down the road, another car appeared. A grey sedan. He could make out the silhouette of a woman with a medium-looking haircut. He couldn’t see her features. 

The boy watched Max climb into the car as Carl drove past. 

The only thing he could see was that the woman had red-ish hair. 

* * *

**11:03 PM**

Surprisingly, Carl hadn’t made any comment of a grounding. Though, Neil wasn’t getting his hopes up. There’d be some sort of punishment tomorrow; Neil just knew it. 

He ran up the stairs and quickly entered his room. He threw the bag onto his bed and turned to close the door. However, before he could get it all the way closed, Nikki suddenly popped into the room. 

“What’s this?” She shoved her phone in Neil’s face, his latest post on screen. The photo was a picture of the two. “You hung out with Max _without me_?” 

Neil threw his hands up in defense mode. “We made last minute plans! Plans that… didn’t include you.” Nikki pouted. “Look, me and Max decided we wanted to go to the diner tomorrow morning for breakfast,” He pointed at his sister. “with _you_. Do you wanna go?”

Any negative emotion was immediately wiped from the girl’s face. “Yes! But, wait, tomorrow’s Monday.”

“Yeah,” Neil moved over to the bag and spilled the contents out, “we’re gonna go before school. At six, so, be ready with all your shit.”

Nikki hummed and flipped through the rest of the post. Neil had recorded the two of them laughing at something. The teal-haired girl giggled along with the boys. “What were you guys laughing at?”

“A stupid Vine compilaton.” A smile tugged at the brunet’s lips. There were some really funny clips and some really bad ones. “...I did find some more stuff out.” 

This caught Nikki’s attention. “You did? What?”

“He keyed me in on what it was like to be homeschooled.” Neil laid on his bed. “He never got a winter or spring vacation- hell, I’m not even sure if he got a summer vacation. He wasn’t allowed to sleep in. He mentioned that every day ended the same way and, well, he didn’t look happy. If his parents were abusing him, then…”

Nikki solemnly nodded. “There’s no ‘if’, though.” Her expression turned serious. “You and I both saw those files. Preston said he had way more- I went and returned those for you, by the way- and honestly, what other explanation is there? Max’s parents are abusive jerks.”

Neil put his hands to his face. “He described his parents a little more. His dad is apparently this really positive guy and his mom’s that laid back kind of person. From the way he talked about his mom, he seems to love her a lot.”

“But that doesn’t mean they aren’t abusive.”

“I didn’t say that they weren’t.” The brown-haired male toyed with his digits. “But- he, uh... he knew where Space Kid lived.”

“He did?”

Neil bobbed his head. “He said he tried multiple times to go to his house but never reached success. For the past three years, he was _trying_. He was trying to let us know that he wasn’t abandoning us. He…” Neil took a breath. “He _saw_ Preston a few times.”

Nikki’s eyes bugged out. “He _saw_ Preston!? Did Preston know?”

“If he did he probably would’ve told us.”

The girl’s hands started to twist her hair. “Where? Where did he see Preston?”

“He said he didn’t remember where.”

The girl thought for a moment before perking up, seemingly realizing something. “The hospital.” She uttered. “He probably saw Preston at the hospital.”

“With all those files… Max was in the same hospital Preston helps out at, wasn’t he?” He watched Nikki nod. “He… he asked me about you guys and… I told him about how Dad and Candy changed each other.” Nikki cringed. When she had gotten older, she had realized how her own mother had been abusive. But Candy was better now. Candy was trying while she could. “Max… he, like, tensed when I mentioned neglect. It made him so uncomfortable to the point he changed the subject.”

“You think it’s just physical?”

“No. Definitely no. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was neglected.”

Nikki frowned, then yawned. “Uh, Preston told me about another thing he got. Sometime in December of 2017 he got pneumonia and checked himself into the hospital. _Himself_ , Neil.” She waited for a nonverbal response before continuing. “The other one…” She bit her lip, unsure of continuing. “He… April of 2018 he- he got hit by a car. It wasn’t anything too serious, but it was bad enough that he was in the hospital for two or three days. A bystander was the one who called the police even though people said his parents were nearby… there were reports that they just… kept walking. Like they didn’t hear anything.” She yawned again. 

“That it?”

“That’s it.” Nikki mumbled. “I… I really want to get him out of that house.”

“...I saw his mom.”

“You did?”

“Sort of. Medium red hair. That’s it.”

“Red?”

Neil shrugged. “Could be dyed. I mean, I’m pretty damn sure they changed their last names; why not change their appearance?”

Maxwell moved to the door. “I hope he’s okay.”

“We’ll see him in the morning. Don’t sleep in.”

“I’ll try not to.” She left.

And, that left Neil with his thoughts. Just as he had done earlier at the streetlight, he reflected on the night. Just the night prior (or this morning if you wanted to get technical), he found out his past self had a crush on his friend. Now, all throughout today, he was trying to ignore the little sparks and the feeling of his chest tightening every time the younger boy did something as simple as smile. 

But then, there was the diner. What the waiter said to him still lingered within his mind. 

_“Hope you and your boyfriend have a safe night._ ” 

And well, fuck. He really wanted that to be a reality. 

…

Okay, fine. Fuck it. Maybe he still did like Max.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The gay times are a comin'.  
> I'm honestly debating if I should keep the streetlight scene in. It feels kinda forced...  
> Next chapter is going to take place over the span of about four months.  
> Also angst-y (ish? idk) times are also a comin'.


	9. Autumn Fragments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> October events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO originally this chapter was supposed to be from September 23rd to January 3rd but by the time I got to the end of October, the chapter was over 10k words and... yeah.  
> (Not sure if i need to say this, but, Nov 1- _mentions_ of underage drinking + drug use [other kids doing it the trio don't do shit :) ])  
> Not the happiest with this.

**September 23rd, 2019 (6:23 AM)**

“Hey, Max, are you going to Homecoming?” Nikki asked while in the middle of stuffing her face with the strawberry pancakes she had ordered. 

“Nah.” Max shook his head. “School dances… I don’t really like them.” He poked his chocolate cakes with his fork. 

“Aw, what?” Nikki frowned. “You don’t _have_ to dance! It could just be an excuse to hang out with each other!”

“We could hang out _without_ being surrounded by edgy teenagers.” Max deadpanned. “I don’t like school dances because of the people.”

“But me and Neil will be there!”

Neil cleared his throat. “Uh, actually, I don’t think I’m going.”

“What!?” The girl’s mouth hung open. “Why not?” She whined. 

“I don’t like to be in crowds by myself. You know how I am.”

“But _I’ll_ be there!”

“You’ll be with your friends. Or by Ered.” Lowenthal ignored his sister’s slight glare. “Dances are boring. Plus… I have something to do that night.”

“Like what?” Her eyes shifted between the two boys. “You two are hanging out again, aren’t you?”

“Well, we’re both not going and you are. Why not?” Max shrugged as chocolate syrup spilled from his mouth. Neil handed him a napkin.

Nikki put an elbow on the table. “I...” Her brows knitted together. “You know what? I don’t really think I have a reason to go, either.”

“You already bought a ticket, though.” Neil pointed out.

The girl put her fork down. “I’ll give it to Liris.” _‘No need for Max to make that dress anymore…’_

Max cocked his head. “Why don’t you have a reason to go? Don’t you wanna, like, impress Ered or something?”

Judging from how Nikki tensed a little, Neil could only guess it was something she didn’t really want to talk about. “There… there’s this girl…” She sighed. “Charlene. She and Ered… they’ve been talking a lot lately and I just… I’m pretty sure Charlene likes her.”

Neil held his coffee in his hands. “But you haven’t had a problem before with people liking and dating Ered.”

“Because I knew they wouldn’t last. Charlene’s different. Charlene’s actually _cool_. She skateboards, she has dyed hair, she doesn’t care about authority. Ered even called her cool. Multiple times!” Nikki swirled a plastic spoon in her hot cocoa. “Ered… Ered doesn’t call just _anyone_ cool. She does it to people she likes.” Her face screamed that she was in pain. “And that’s not me.”

“Then Ered’s stupid.” Max snapped. “You’re willing to fight wild animals, you can sit calmly when you're about to be sacrificed by some crazed cult leader, you set off bombs and stand just inches from where they blow up with absolutely no fear, you drank that water from whatever that hole thing is called multiple times despite it probably being able to kill you, and so many more dangerous things. It shouldn’t matter to you what Ered thinks. Her definition of being cool is just not giving a shit. You’ve done so much cool shit and if Ered can’t see that, it’s her fucking loss.” He stabbed his chocolate pancakes. 

A halfhearted laugh came from Nikki’s mouth. “Thanks, Max.”

Max nodded before stuffing his face with his breakfast. 

“I guess it’s probably time to get over her, anyway.” Nikki poked at the pink cakes on her plate. “No point in crushing over someone for four years if they don’t like you back.”

“Getting over her is not gonna be easy.” Max stated. “There might always be that little feeling in the back of your mind.” He sipped his coffee. “Or, y’know… you could kill Charlene or ruin her to the point where Ered doesn’t want to talk to her.”

“Max!” Neil lightly slapped the boy’s upper arm. Max started coughing as a response. 

“She could though! Jealousy is a powerful thing!” The Indian defended. 

“Jealousy _is_ a powerful thing.” Nikki piped in. “Remember what I did to that Flower Scout?”

“Colleen?”

“Yeah, her.”

The brunet cut his pancake. “Pretty sure you mentally scarred her.”

Nikki licked whip cream off her fork. “She had it coming. She was one of those fake blondies. Ered didn’t even like her.”

“Still can’t believe we didn’t get caught.” Max smiled.

“Well, _you_ helped by getting rid of most of the evidence.” Neil would’ve booped the younger boy’s nose had he not moved his head back. 

“There was still so much shit that pointed towards us though!” 

“I really thought David and Gwen would immediately think it was us!” Nikki giggled. “It wasn’t until they saw the materials you-” she pointed at Neil, “used to make the bombs that they even had an idea that it was us!”

“They were definitely suspicious.”

“Definitely.”

The trio wrapped up their breakfast and caught a ride from Candy. They had gotten out of the car just as the ex-campers who rode their bus were exiting the vehicle. The three started walking towards the others. 

“So, I brought my Nintendo Switch.” Max said, then aimlessly pointed back at his bookbag. “I got Smash and Odyssey.”

“Play at lunch?”

“Hell yeah.” Max snapped his hand into a finger gun. When they reached the usual spot where they split from the rest of the group, Max tugged on Neil’s hand. “I wanna go to the arts hall.”

“Uh, why?” The two started in the direction of the hall.

Max shrugged. “Wanna see if Ered’s with that other girl.”

“Oh, okay.” 

They turned the corner. The usual group was huddled by the trophy cases full of art. Neil noticed how everyone gave a glance at the pair, some longer than others. Max had never come to this hall in the morning and Neil hadn’t been there since the second day of school. When Nikki spotted her friends, her expression brightened as she sped over to them. Both boys saw Ered talking to a brunette with a byzantine purple ombre. 

“I didn’t think you two would come here.” She pulled the boys to the opposite side of the hall. 

Max shrugged. “Felt like it.” He glanced over at the brunette. “That Charl?”

Nikki nodded. “Yeah.”

“She looks like a cunt.”

“Oh my gosh, Max!” Nikki snickered, just barely missing a light punch to the same arm Neil slapped earlier. 

“It’s true though!” Max gestured to the girl. “Look at her!”

Neil smiled, deciding to join in. “He’s not wrong.” He pulled the two closer to him as he brought his voice to a whisper. “That shirt is way too low and way too short. How is the school letting her get away with that?”

Max chortled. “Who’s gonna tell her that everyone can see the underwear lines?”

“Gosh, I didn’t even notice that!” Nikki giggled. 

Truthfully, Neil felt a little bad about making fun of somebody else, but if it was gonna give Nikki a reason to laugh, he was all for it. If what he experienced for the last three years was heartbreak, he sure as hell wanted to make this as painless as possible for her. 

The trio continued to throw a couple insults and jokes into the conversation. While Max and Nikki were busy coming up with harder insults, Neil noticed Preston watching them. 

Neil gave Preston a reassuring smile. It was hard to pretend like everything was alright when they knew about the horrible things Max went through. Preston didn’t return that smile though, instead he walked over to the nerd and pulled him away from the other two. Max turned to probably follow, but Nikki grabbed his wrist and continued the conversation after giving Neil a look that said “I got this, go talk to him”. 

“I saw your post from last night. Is… is he okay? Nikki said you hung out all day yesterday.”

Lowenthal glanced back to Max. “He…” Neil furrowed his brows. “He saw you.”

“What do you mean?”

“He saw you at the hospital a few times.”

Goodplay’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Well, he didn’t say it was at the hospital, but Nikki and I are pretty confident that’s where he did. Think about it, he was in that building plenty of times and you’ve helped out there for the past three or so years.”

“Why did he never say anything?”

“He said he never had an opportunity.”

Preston visibly crumbled. “I.. I could’ve prevented so much!” He pulled at his hair. “If- if only I saw him…!”

“Hey, hey,” Neil put a hand to the theatre boy’s shoulder. “You didn’t know. And,” he huffed, “if you did see him, I doubt there was anything you could do. If… if the cops can’t find enough evidence to arrest his parents even after all _that_ … what… what could you do?”

“I don’t know...” Preston shrugged Neil’s hand off of him. “Persuade him to… I don’t know, tell someone?” A few beats of silence. “Did Nikki tell you?”

“About the car and pneumonia? Yeah, she did.”

“I wanted to believe that there wasn’t any abuse, but that car one… who can just… _walk off_ when their kid just got hit?”

“Assholes who don’t care about their son. That’s who.”

The theatre boy opened his mouth to say something, but the bell cut him off. “See you tomorrow.” He pushed past the genius and sped into his drama class. 

Max and Nikki appeared by Neil’s sides, still spouting insults about not only Charlene, but a few other gals who used to like Ered. 

“There was Whitney,” Nikki counted. “She had the fakest ponytail extension I’d ever seen!”

“It was black and straight while Whitney’s hair was dark brown and a little curly.” Neil chimed. “Wasn’t she the one who tried way too hard?”

“Uh, _yes_!” The girl stated as if it was an obvious fact. “The chick got this huge basket of chocolates that Ered didn’t even like, tried _way_ too hard with trying to dress ‘cool’, and don’t even get me started on the ‘secret admirer’ letters she stuffed in her locker.”

“I doubt it was very ‘secret’.”

“It really wasn’t.”

* * *

**October 4th, 2019 (7:46 PM)**

“You look fine.” Neil said, clearly tired. 

“I… I don’t know.” Harrison pulled on the lapels of his suit. Neil had agreed to let the boys come over as their meeting place before they piled into Preston’s moms’ minivan and went to the dance. “What if she doesn’t like this?”

“Dude, she’s your girlfriend.” Max suddenly called from the stairs. He had locked himself in Neil’s room alongside Nikki and had refused to come out until the boys left. “You could be wearing a fuckin’ clown costume and she’d still find you hot.” He made it to the bottom of the stairs. “Plus, it’s literally just a normal ass black suit with a sparkly yellow tie. Stop worrying about what you look like.”

“O-Oh. Um… th-thanks?” Harrison stammered. Max didn’t really talk to the other kids, nor did they see too much of him outside of their health class or Neil and Nikki’s Instagrams. This was still weird for some of them, especially since they didn’t know _why_ Max was gone. Sure, they had an idea, but they didn’t know the details. They didn’t even know half of what Neil, Nikki, and Preston did. 

“Yeah, whatever.” He turned to Neil. “Nikki said you guys have grapes somewhere.”

“Fridge, drawer at the bottom on the right.”

“Thanks.” Max started for the kitchen. 

“Hey, get me two Caprimoons!” Neil shouted as Max passed through the doorway.

Harrisons clasped his hands together. “...I wish Nerris wasn’t so against him.” 

Neil looked up at the magician. “Why is she, anyway?”

Harrison shrugged. “I don’t even know. She said it was complicated when I asked… I know she’s stubborn, but you’d think she’d let up by now.”

Before Neil could say anything, Max re-entered the living room and tossed the two drinks at him. He spun on his heel and back into the kitchen. The boys could hear the rustling of the grape bag. 

“I’m glad he’s back.” Harrison quietly admitted. “It… feels a little more complete.”

Neil inspected the back of one of the Caprimoon’s. Max had written something.

_When a plant is sad, what do other plants do?_

He looked at the other one. 

_Photosympathize!_

Neil stifled a laugh. Goddamn science puns. “Me too.” He poked the straw through the hole. 

“I look fucking fabulous.” Preston stood proudly in the bathroom doorway. He had a striped burgundy suit with a rather colorful tie. 

“Tell yourself that.” Max yelled from the kitchen. 

Preston looked at Harrison and Neil, confused. 

“He’s in the kitchen.”

“Ah.” Preston trotted over to the family couch. “I hope they kept all the streamers I put up. Made it look less bland.”

“Where’d you even put the streamers? The dance is in the gym.”

“In the ceiling, obviously.”

“How’d you reach that?” 

Preston smiled smugly. “I got Nurf to do it after school. He’s got a strong throw. Also used party poppers.”

Nurf clambered down the stairs, decked out in red. “He lost a few of them in the bleachers.”

“Hush.” Preston whined. “I did no such thing.”

“I can literally _show _you where some of them are. Like the four in the corner with all the shuttlecocks Ered and Nikki lost.”__

____

Preston pursed his lips as Nurf took a seat on the opposite side of the couch. 

____

Max came out of the kitchen, a popcorn bowl full of grapes in his hands. He threw one in his mouth, then offered some to Neil. Neil took a couple and muttered a quiet “thanks”. 

____

Instead of going back upstairs though, Max plopped down into the seat next to Neil. “Other than Harrison, either of you got any dates?” 

____

“He does.” Preston pointed a thumb at a suddenly flustered Nurf.

____

“H-His name’s James.”

____

Max nodded. “Good for you.” Neil noticed a double twitch happen at the corner of Max’s lips. That meant Max was stopping himself from saying a joke, as Neil had learned the day Jermy showed up at camp.

____

“So…” Preston cleared his throat. “Max,” Said boy shoved another grape into his mouth. “What’ve you been up to lately? We haven’t talked much since the beginning of school.”

____

“Just doing whatever.” The Indian replied. “Whether that’s hanging out with them,” he tilted his head in Neil’s direction, “or some sort of school prank.”

____

“School pranks? Were… were you three involved with that thing that happened to Charlene White?”

____

“Mm…” Max rolled one of the green fruits. “Maybe.”

____

“Oh my god, you totally were.” Preston started clapping. “That prank was so brilliant! Where’d you even get mice?”

____

“Nikki.” Both Neil and Max spoke at the same time. 

____

“Ah, that explains it.” He sighed dreamily. “I don’t mean to sound impolite, but that girl deserved it. She was being really rude towards Amanda and Kraig the day she came to our rehearsal.”

____

“I don’t know what Ered sees in her.” Nurf piped.

____

“She’s a ‘cool’ gal.” Max brought his knees to his chest. “Of course Ered would be attracted to that. She’s like a moth.”

____

“Ugh,” Preston groaned. “Girl needs to have better standards. She goes through, like, ten girls a year and never learns.” He leaned back into the sofa. “You shouldn’t date someone just because they’re ‘cool’, or because they have an unnatural hair or eye color, or because they disrespect or don’t care about authority.”

____

“What was her longest relationship?” Max inquired. 

____

“Yvette Pugh. Two months. Bright red hair, pink eyes, no care for authority whatsoever.” Preston looked at his nails. “They broke up because Ered didn’t find her attractive anymore after she found out Yvette used contacts and actually had, and I quote, ‘the ugliest shade of brown’ she had ever seen. After they broke up, Ered admitted that the only reason she really stayed with Yvette was because of her eyes.” He laughed. “Yvette was _so_ heartbroken. One thing I will give Ered credit for is that she hates when girls are being fake with her.” The click of a tongue. 

____

“Well, it’s gonna be hard to find someone who _is_ real.” Max snarked. “Everyone at school is fake as hell. Just yesterday I saw Kellara and Winona shit-talking Marcy, who, by the way, is supposedly their best friend.”

____

“Oh my god, _seriously_?” Preston’s eyes lit up. He loved drama. “Exact words?”

____

Max dug into his pocket and whipped out his phone. “Why tell you when you can hear it for yourself?”

____

“Holy SHIT!” Goodplay scrambled up and ran over to the younger boy with stars in his eyes. Max played the video clip for him. The further they got into the video, the wider Preston’s smile got. “Oh, I KNEW it! I finally have some blackmail on Kellara! Hate that bitch!” He cheered. “Send that to me. Right now.”

____

“Mkay.” Max typed a bit, then a ping could be heard from Preston’s device.

____

The four boys heard someone coming down the stairs. Max, Neil, and Nurf looked up to see Nikki peeking out. “Oh, there you are.” She hopped over the railing (which gave Neil a mini-heart attack) and sat on the arm of the chair Max was in. She reached her hand into the bowl and crammed as many grapes as she could into her mouth. The girl looked up at the boys on the couch. “You look fantastic!” 

____

“Thank you!” Preston embraced the compliment while Nurf didn’t verbally respond. “Just as I look perfectly ready for a dance, you look perfectly ready for a sleepover!” 

____

Despite it only being seven, Nikki was already in her set of fluffy purple pajamas. The trio had gone to the park after school and were going to be having a sleepover while everyone else went to the dance. They did this almost every Friday, now. It felt nice to catch up in person and out of school, not to mention all the scheming they had already started. 

____

Unfortunately, as Nikki predicted, Charlene and Ered started dating as of three days prior to the dance. They were going together and that put the nail in the coffin for Nikki _not_ to go. Everyone except Ered saw how Nikki was in excruciating pain when it became official. It didn’t help at all that Charlene was in Nikki’s fourth period, sitting next to Ered (who was behind Nikki) no less. The poor girl fell into a brief depression for a day. She didn’t come out of her room unless it was for the bathroom or to eat. The day after, Max came over and he and Neil forced her out of bed. They played a few video games and ultimately managed to get Nikki to feel better. She still wasn’t one-hundred percent, but she would be okay. 

____

One thing that made Nikki really happy was making fun of Charlene and the girls Ered had been affiliated with beforehand. Yeah, Nikki felt bad, but at the end of the day she really couldn’t give a shit anymore. She was taking it in stride and Neil and Max couldn’t feel any happier for her. 

____

“Thanks.” Nikki said, though it was muffled as she stuffed more fruit.

____

As the five continued on their conversation, two pairs of footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. “I regret choosing a bowtie.” Space Kid mumbled, one hand on the railing and the other busy fixing the tie.

____

“And here comes the ace kings.” Preston announced. 

____

“It’s better than a normal tie.” Dolph stated, ignoring Preston’s comment. “The normal tie wouldn’t go with that suit.” The German boy patted his tan suit down. “Uh,” He turned to the group. “Nerris said Preston’s mom picked her up.” He quickly glanced at Nikki. “Ered and that other girl are already at the school.” It was known throughout the group, except to Ered, of course, that nobody necessarily _liked_ Charlene. It was one of those cases where there was something about her that everyone didn’t like, but no one could quite place their finger on what it was. 

____

“So, are you all ready?” Neil questioned, seeing the headlights through the window. “Can you get the fuck out of my house now?” Friendly bickering.

____

“We’ll get out of your hair, sir.” Preston bowed. “Thanks again for letting us use the house, And,” He turned to Max. “Thank _you_ for giving me the blackmail.” 

____

“Have fun!” Nikki called after them. 

____

And just like that, the trio was left alone again.

____

The teal-haired girl popped a movie out from behind her. “Who wants to watch _Rio_?” 

____

“Is that the movie about those blue birds?” 

____

“Sure is!” Nikki moved to put the movie in. 

____

“I’ve never seen it.”

____

“What!?” Maxwell swiveled around. “How have you not seen this?”

____

Max shrugged. “It seemed stupid.”

____

“Oh, now we _have_ to watch it!” Nikki went as quick as she could.

____

The black-haired boy slumped in his chair. “I’m gonna hate this.”

____

Neil ruffled Max’s hair. _‘It’s so soft…’_ “You’re gonna love this.”

____

Max scoffed, a tiny grin threatened to show itself. “We’ll see.”

____

* * *

____

**(11:02 PM)**

____

Neil jolted awake. He surveyed his surroundings, quickly establishing that the kids were moved. They had fallen asleep in the living room, he was sure. They had watched both _Rio_ movies, then let episodes of _Steven Universe_ play while they bitched about life. Nikki fell first, then Neil, then Max. 

____

They were in the same setup as the last two sleepovers. Nikki was on the left, Neil was on the right, and Max was in the middle. Neil yawned, ultimately deciding to get out of bed. He was careful not to wake Max, as the boy had said was a light sleeper. The nerd tiptoed over to his closet, glancing back to Max every now and then. 

____

His jacket was in here. He wanted to go outside for a while, just for a little air. Though it was dark, there was a bit of light. Neil felt around for the black clothing. He eventually found it and pulled it out, glancing at the other boy again. When he looked back, his eyes landed on the Max doll. He absently smiled, then noticed a small note next to it.

____

_Still have me? -M_

____

Neil stared at the paper, then back to Max. _‘Why was Max in here?’_ He made sure everything else was in place. Nothing seemed to have been tampered with besides the doll.

____

A sigh. The brunet carefully threw his black coat around him. It eerily reminded him of the night he met Preston at the park. He moved to the door and stepped out, looking back one more time. His footsteps were quiet against the wood as he descended. 

____

The lock to the back door clicked as it was unlocked. Neil slowly opened it, making sure there were no squeaks. He squeezed through the door when it was big enough for him to get through. Just as slow, Neil closed it. He turned, breathing in the air. His mind wandered to everything that had transpired in the past two months. 

____

For one, Max came back into his life. Well, _everyone’s_ life. Two, he realized he liked his best friend as more than a friend. Three, he found out _why_ he was gone. 

____

He really wished he’d asked for his address when he could. Sure, Max probably wouldn’t have given it to him, but it would’ve been worth a shot. 

____

He leaned against the railing.

____

Thinking about it, Neil didn’t know where Max lived _currently_. He could only imagine what went on in that house. 

____

...maybe it was better that he didn’t know where the boy lived. He wasn’t sure what would happen to either of them if he showed up one day. 

____

“I appreciate the effort, but I still woke up.” Neil turned at the sound of the groggy voice. There, wrapped in a yellow weighted blanket, stood Max. His hair was a mess. 

____

“Fuck, sorry, I thought I was quiet.”

____

“You were.” Max yawned. “I don’t think it was from sound.” He approached Neil, opting to lean his back against the wood. “Could’ve been a change in surroundings. I woke up earlier when your parents moved us- well, uh, you guys.”

____

“Sorry, again.”

____

Max only shrugged. “So, what’re you doing out here?”

____

“Needed air. You?” _‘What a dumb question.’_

____

“You were gone. Found you out here.”

____

“Nikki still asleep-?”

____

“Nikki still asleep.” Max affirmed. Another yawn. “I think I realized what it is about Charlene I don’t like.”

____

“What is it?”

____

“Well, I think Charlene doesn’t actually like Ered.”

____

“What do you mean?”

____

Max hopped on top of the railing, balancing himself. “I don’t know. It’s like she gives these knowing looks to Nikki. Nik even said whenever she’s around, Charlene raises her voice when flirting with Ered. Seems to me like she’s actively just trying to make Nikki jealous. Like, she has no interest in Ered. Only Nikki.”

____

Neil felt a spark of anger within him. “If that’s the case, I’ll fucking kill ‘er.”

____

“Can I help?”

____

“Of course.” If you asked Neil what he saw Nikki as three years ago, Neil would’ve told you he saw her as a close friend. That’s not to say he doesn’t see her that way now, the only thing that’s changed is that Nikki was his _sister_ now. Anyone who hurt her was going to become the victim of not only him, but honestly the whole gang. Charlene already experienced the trio’s wrath. 

____

She’ll just experience it again.

____

“That’d really fucking suck for Ered if it turned out Charl was just using her.” Max commented. 

____

“If she is, what does she have against Nikki? As far as I, and Nikki, knows, we’ve never even interacted with Charlene.”

____

“Maybe she actually likes Nikki. Or she’s trying to set the two up.”

____

“Neither of those make sense.”

____

The Indian rubbed at his face. “Could be a ‘make them jealous’ sort of thing. She obviously _knows_ Nikki likes Ered.” 

____

Neil’s face was all sorts of confused.

____

“Don’t you remember what the Flower Scouts told us when we tried to set David back up with Bonquisha?”

____

“...no?”

____

Max inhaled sharply. “‘If a girl knows a man is with another girl, we have to have him.’” He recited. “She could be trying to make Nikki jealous so she’ll fight to get Ered.”

____

“Or she’s a bitch and rubbing it in Nikki’s face that she was able to date Ered.”

____

Max yawned. “Wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out she’s another one of those girls.”

____

Neil quietly nodded, his gaze finding its way to Max’s face. “So…” His fingers tapped on the wood. “You saw the doll?”

____

“Mm?” The Indian mumbled. He sounded incredibly tired. “Oh, yeah. Saw it when I was changing.”

____

“Changing?”

____

“Took one of your shirts again.”

____

“O-Oh.” Neil internally thanked everything that it was dark out. He did _not_ need Max to see how red his face got. 

____

The blanket slipped off Max’s shoulders, exposing which shirt he had taken. It was the dark blue one with the solar system on it. The boy yawned again. 

____

“Tired?” Neil raised an eyebrow.

____

“Uh huh.” 

____

Neil pushed himself up from the railing. “You think the others had a good night?”

____

“Maybe.” Max stepped off the railing- well, he tried to. As soon as his other foot hit the wood, he fell forward. 

____

Luckily, Neil caught him.

____

“Jesus fuck. I’m really fuckin’ disoriented.” The shorter boy’s speech was slurred.

____

Seeing as the boy was quite literally on the verge of passing out, an idea popped into Neil’s head. An idea that he was sure Max wouldn’t like. 

____

Nonetheless, he did it anyway. 

____

The nerd put a hand on Max’s back and the other on his legs, then lifted. 

____

“Woah- WOAH, the fuck are you doing!?”

____

A grin tugged at Neil’s lips. “We’re going back to bed, my peasant. Even folk like you need beauty sleep.”

____

“God, don’t call it that.”

____

“Fine, an ugly sleep.”

____

Max flicked Neil’s chest. “Smartass.”

____

The nerd opened the door, not nearly as slow as before. He stepped in, making sure Max didn’t hit his head on the doorframe. 

____

“I can walk, y’know.” 

____

“Mm… you almost fell over earlier. I don’t trust you.”

____

“I tripped on the blanket.”

____

“Sure you did.”

____

Max grumbled. 

____

Neil shut the door behind him, then started up the stairs once he got his footing. When he got to the top, his door was already open. He pushed past it and closed the door with his foot, not caring to be overly cautious. Neil moved to the bed, but didn’t set Max on it yet.

____

Instead, he lifted the duvet, then set Max underneath it. “Uh…” Max wondered. 

____

“It’s cold.” Neil shrugged. “It’ll only get colder.”

____

“What about her?” Max pointed to Nikki.

____

“She’ll be fine. Look at the big ass blanket she has.” 

____

Max tried to stifle a chuckle in response as Neil tugged his jacket off. He climbed into the bed, then pulled the covers over him and Max. “You wanna go to the diner tomorrow morning?”

____

“Yeah, sure.” Max mumbled. No doubt he’d be asleep in seconds.

____

* * *

____

**October 23rd, 2019 (6:20 PM)**

____

“What’d you get him?” Nikki poked at the small pastel purple in her lap.

____

“A few paintbrushes… some candy.” Neil shrugged, looking out of the window. He found himself peering into every grey sedan that went by. 

____

“Well, I got him some cool stencils.” She perked up. “Oh, right. Here,” She pulled a small piece of plastic out from her bag. “Each of us is supposed to have a piece. They go together to make a model of a tree. Space Kid’s bringing the neon lights that are supposed to go on it.” 

____

Neil took the plastic and pushed it under the paper in his own bag. 

____

“What kind of cake do you think he got?” 

____

Every year, the flavor and kind of cake Dolph got on his birthday was different. _Significantly_ different. “Maybe it’s… they haven’t done carrot cake yet, have they?”

____

“Hm… no, I don’t think so.”

____

_‘Yellow, chocolate, strawberry, orange, lemon, marble, red velvet, lemon poppyseed, confetti, raspberry, vanilla, vanilla ice cream, pecan… really, the only flavors I can think of is carrot and banana…’_ Neil looked outside the window again. Every cake was tiered differently. Different icing. Different shapes. 

____

Traditions were weird.

____

Carl pulled into the driveway of the Houston household. Hasty farewells were exchanged as the siblings turned to the front door. “How’re you feeling?” Neil questioned, pulling the screen door open.

____

“Great, why?”

____

The brunet shrugged, then knocked. “Well…”

____

“If it’s about Ered and Nerris, I’ll be fine. This is Dolph’s birthday. Some dumb little feelings and petty drama isn’t going to ruin the little guy’s big day. I’m not gonna let it.” Nikki waved her hand. “If things get too bad, I’m retreating to the closest fast food place.”

____

“If you do, tell me.” 

____

“Why? I’ll be back by the end of the party and you’ll know where I am.”

____

“So I can join you, duh.”

____

Nikki chortled. “I’m almost tempted to leave right now!”

____

Before Neil could respond, Dolph’s father opened the door. Stuart led the kids to the living room. There were presents huddled in a corner. The floor was barely visible. Neil and Nikki set their bags down amongst the others. They moved to the hall, being able to hear the others kids’ voices. 

____

Nikki hesitated, her facial expression tightening.. “I… suddenly I-” She swallowed. “I don’t want to be here.” 

____

Neil noticed her tremble. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Since when has Nikki Maxwell been afraid of something?”

____

“Since forever.” The girl meekly said. She pushed Neil’s hand off of her. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom real quick…” She scurried off. 

____

A beat, then a long sigh. Neil walked past the bathroom, pausing briefly to hear the sound of someone (Nikki) about to break down into tears. He stared longingly at the silver doorknob, wishing he could help in some way. He begrudgingly continued down the hall, able to see Ered in the black bean bag chair in the corner and just barely being able to see Preston in the window seat. 

____

Sucking in a breath, Neil stepped through the doorway. All eyes turned on him. “Ah, hello!” Dolph greeted. 

____

Ered looked up from her phone. “Where’s Nikki?”

____

“In the bathroom. She’ll be out soon.” Neil rubbed at the back of his neck. He surveyed the room. Space Kid, Dolph, Nerris, and Harrison were sitting on Dolph’s bed and Nurf was next to the window seat, sitting on the floor. 

____

No Max.

____

Lowenthal mentally slapped himself. Of course Max wasn’t here. He wasn’t invited. Neil let out a sigh, then forced a smile on his face. He’d admit, it’d been a while since he’d done a group hangout.

____

* * *

____

**(7:02 PM)**

____

Gift time was both the most fun and the most boring part of birthdays. At least, in Neil’s opinion. Sure, it was fun to see what the birthday person was gonna get and their reaction, but it’s also full of awkward silence. 

____

To no one’s surprise, all Dolph really got was a bunch of art supplies and candies. Space Kid had gotten him a customized sketchbook, though. That was neat. 

____

Houston had first been confused by all the plastic pieces, but once he realized what it was, he became ecstatic and started building immediately.

____

“And here’s the last one.” Dolph dragged a rather large black bag over to himself. “Oh, wow, it’s heavy.” He checked the tag that came with the bag. “Uh… who’s this from? There’s no name. It just says ‘To: Dolph’.” 

____

The other kids shrugged. Everyone else had put their name on the thing they brought. And- wait. Neil counted the other bags. There were ten, aside from the mysterious black bag. One from each ex-camper and one from the parents and another from Dolph’s little sister. 

____

Everyone watched as Dolph pulled the first thing out. It was a set of colored pencils from the brand Lyra. Dolph almost dropped the box when he read what brand it was. “Oh my- these- these are…” He was at a loss for words. Carefully, he set them down and dug back into the bag. Out came a box of oil pastels from Sennelier. “Who… who gave this to me?” He looked up at his friends, but all of them shrugged.

____

“Aren’t those, like, really expensive?” Ered commented. 

____

“Yes, they are.” Dolph set it down and reached back into the bag. Out came another box of oil pastels from the brand Sennelier. “Who!?” Dolph exclaimed, on the verge of tears. “I really want to give the person who gave this to me a nice big hug.” He pulled out two medium sized canvases. At the bottom of the bag, under the white paper, was a shit ton of Haribo gummies. There were a few bags of alphabet gummies with a note stating that they were for Paulina, Dolph’s little sister. That was all that was in the bag.

____

“There’s no name on it?” Nikki asked, looking at the tag herself. 

____

“Nope.” Dolph shook his head. “I really want to know…” He frowned.

____

_“What’s the brand of oil pastels Dolph has?”_

____

Neil felt a smile tug at his lips. _‘Goddammit, Max.’_

____

* * *

____

**(8:41 PM)**

____

“Wanna go to Burger King?” Nikki asked, drying her hands off. The siblings were in the kitchen after offering to do the dishes. 

____

“I thought things were good?” Neil cocked an eyebrow. 

____

“They are.” Nikki shrugged. “I’m just kinda bored. And I want chicken nuggets.” She leaned against the doorframe. “Our stuff is right there.” She pointed to the couch. There was only a small purse sitting on it. Their candy bags were in Dolph’s room. “We can just leave.”

____

Neil thought for a second. “The others will wonder where we went. If Stuart and Lara know we’re gone, they’ll probably tell Candy and Dad. Then we’ll get in trouble.”

____

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Neil, but Dolph’s parents aren’t here. They went to one of Stuart’s military parties or something.”

____

The brunet blinked, then peered out the window. The family car was gone. “Oh.”

____

“So… you wanna do it?”

____

“I…” Neil looked down the hall to Dolph’s bedroom. Everyone seemed fine without them. “Yeah, fine, let’s go.” 

____

The siblings quickly removed themselves from the house. To their knowledge, no one knew they had just left.

____

“Gosh, I’m _so_ happy to get out of that house!” Nikki exclaimed, taking in a long breath. “There’s only so long you can be in a room with people you have problems with.”

____

Neil and Nikki started down the street. “Has Charlene been a problem for you lately?”

____

Nikki scoffed. “She’s always been a problem. But, uh, no. Everything’s been normal.” The girl suddenly smiled. “Yesterday Charlene started giving Ered flak for ‘not texting her enough’.”

____

“They text all the time though?”

____

“I know!” Nikki threw her hands in the air. “I’m surprised Ered’s still able to text _me_ every other night.” 

____

“She texts you every other night?” The nerd inquired. 

____

“While _you_ text Max every night, Ered texts _me_ every two nights.”

____

Neil did a double take. “How did you know Max and I text every night?”

____

Nikki shrugged. “From the way you guys talk to each other at school plus the sound of screen tapping through the wall, I just kinda assumed.”

____

“‘Way we talk to each other’? What’s that mean?”

____

“Like, inside jokes. I heard Max say that he wanted to ‘continue the conversation from last night’ to you a couple days ago. Also, ever since Max came back, you’ve been, like, glued to your phone. You barely touched it before.”

____

Neil frowned. Nikki must’ve noticed. “Not that that’s a bad thing!” She quickly followed up. “I’m glad someone’s talking to him twenty-four seven. Kinda let’s you know he’s okay.”

____

_‘Kinda let’s you know he’s okay.’_ “What do you think he’s doing right now?”

____

“Probably hanging out in his room.” A moment of silence. “Wanna invite him?”

____

“Huh?”

____

“Invite ‘im. It’ll get him out of that house.”

____

Neil didn’t give a verbal response as he pulled his phone out and quickly typed a message to Max.

____

**Wed, Oct 23, 8:54 PM**

____

**Hey, Nikki and I are going to Burger King. Do you want to come?**

____

About two seconds later, Max had sent back a reply. 

____

**Max: yea sure**

____

**Max: which one?**

____

Neil sent the directions to the place they were going to. “He said yeah.”

____

“Yes!” Nikki hissed a cheer. “God, I _really_ want those chicken nuggets.” 

____

“How long until the others realize we’re gone?”

____

“Mm…” Nikki pondered. “I’d give ‘em about twenty or thirty minutes. Won’t matter. We’re already out.”

____

They turned a corner. “Mr. Haddock assigned this stupid writing project.” Nikki began to lightly skip. “I have to find something by Shakespeare and write about how I relate to it.”

____

“Ask Preston.”

____

“I did. He said _Romeo and Juliet_.” The girl ran her hands up and down her arms. It was getting cold out and she didn’t have a jacket. 

____

“You could always make something up.” Neil shrugged. “After all, when this semester is over, you probably won’t ever interact with your first semester teachers again. Not like they’ll remember you among the hundreds of students they have.”

____

“I think I’ll do that.” Downcast pink eyes. “Any dumb projects you have?” 

____

“Not yet. Though, Max said David was planning to make us do a group project in Health.”

____

“Aw, what? What on?”

____

“Drugs.”

____

Nikki’s expression instantly brightened. “Okay, nevermind, I wanna do that.”

____

“Of course you would.” Neil mumbled. _‘Max had wanted to do it too.’_

____

They turned another corner. The fast food restaurant was in view and right in front of it was a grey sedan. Both kids watched as the passenger door opened and a boy stepped out. 

____

“There he is!” Nikki started running as the car drove away. Neil observed as Nikki pulled Max into a tight embrace after briefly giving the kid a heart attack. She had caught him off-guard.

____

The brunet quickened his steps. 

____

“Hey.” Max greeted with a nod. 

____

Neil nodded back. “Hey.” 

____

“Was Dolph’s party fun?”

____

“Yeah, it was alright.”

____

Nikki didn’t give a response. “Well, those chicken nuggets aren’t gonna eat themselves!” She went into the building, leaving the two boys in the cold outside.

____

“Ered?”

____

“And Nerris.”

____

“Anything bad happen?”

____

“Other than her having a breakdown in the bathroom, no.”

____

The boys caught up with Nikki as she was ordering. She offered to order for the boys while they went to find a table. 

____

They found a booth in the front by a window. It vaguely reminded Neil of the time he and Max went to _Artie’s Diner_. 

____

The two shuffled into a seat. “Dolph liked your gift, by the way.”

____

Max folded his arms over the table. “So you knew it was from me.”

____

_“So… are you, like, wealthy?”_

____

_“Sort of?”_

____

“Well, the stuff he got would’ve cost a shit ton. Not to mention you asked me which brand of oil pastels he used a little while back.”

____

“Darn, I’ve been caught.” 

____

“His sister loved the candy.”

____

“I wanna meet his sister. She’s adorable.” A warm smile was plastered on the Indian’s face. “Did Dolph know it was from me?”

____

“No. He wants to know who it’s from, though. Paulina, too.” Neil paused. “How’d you even get the bag inside the house?”

____

“I’m a fuckin’ ninja. That’s how.”

____

“You are not a ninja.”

____

“You don’t know that.”

____

“Hm… no, I think I _do_ know that.”

____

They chatted a bit more before Nikki came over with fries, nuggets, and three drinks. “Hope you like lemonade, Max.”

____

“Do you not remember when we raided the Flower Scouts camp?” Max reached for one of the lemonades.

____

“Oh, right,” The girl beamed. “You drank, like, half of the lemonade we found.”

____

“I’d do it again if I could.” Max took a swig.

____

* * *

____

**(9:50 PM)**

____

Neil felt a buzz in his pocket.

____

**Ered: hey**

____

**Ered: is nikki with u**

____

Looking over at Nikki, she seemed to be engrossed in a conversation about dogs with Max, who was equally as absorbed into the discussion. 

____

**Yes.**

____

**Ered: ok good**

____

**Ered: i was just wondering where she was**

____

**Ered: shes been off today**

____

**Ered: actually shes been off for a while**

____

**Ered: do u know why**

____

**Ered: ?**

____

Neil stared down at the messages. How should he respond to this? He weighed his options. 

____

He could tell Ered that Nikki likes her and is upset about Charlene. _‘No, she should be able to say that herself.’_

____

He could lie and say she’s fine. _‘Ered’s smarter than that.’_

____

He could say it’s because of Nerris. _‘That’s not a total lie.’_

____

**Ered: hello**

____

**Ered: ?**

____

**She’s just been stressed lately.**

____

**School stuff.**

____

**Ered: its not nerris?**

____

**Well, that too. But it’s mostly just school.**

____

**Ered: i wish theyd make up already**

____

**Ered: shes letting this whole thing with max go too far**

____

**It’s about Max?**

____

**Ered: nerris is upset abt how nik reacted to max being back**

____

**That’s why Nerris has been mad at Nikki this whole time?**

____

**Ered: well they had a kinda serious argument too**

____

**Ered: both r still angry**

____

**Ered: nik didnt tell u?**

____

**Not that much.**

____

**Ered: oh**

____

**Ered: did u guys go home**

____

**No.**

____

**Ered: ur stuff is still here**

____

**We know. We’re going to come back.**

____

**Ered: ok**

____

**Ered: hey tell nikki not to let nerrie or school get to her**

____

**Ered: i hate seeing her upset**

____

_‘At least Ered still cares about her.’_

____

Right before Neil was about to put his device away, he got another text.

____

**Preston: Where the fuck are u**

____

**Burger King. Nikki wanted chicken nuggets.**

____

**Preston: >:0**

____

**Preston: I want chicken nuggets >:(**

____

**Too bad.**

____

**Preston: Ered’s looking for u btw**

____

**Preston: Or well WAS**

____

**Preston: I think she was just looking for Nikki**

____

**Preston: Uh also Ered had a fight with Charlene**

____

**She did?**

____

**Preston: Charlene’s mad because Ered left her on read when she went to find Nikki**

____

**Hah.**

____

**Preston: Hah indeed**

____

**Preston: Are u guys planning on coming back?**

____

**Our stuff is there for a reason.**

____

**Preston: Okay just making sure**

____

**Preston: See u later**

____

Neil didn’t reply. 

____

“What’s your favorite breed of dog?” Max asked as he dipped a fry in ketchup. 

____

“Uh… basenjis are cute” Neil shrugged. “I mean, I like small dogs in general.” 

____

“Any big doggies you like?” Nikki excitedly asked. “I want a newfoundland!” 

____

“Those things are fuckin’ humongous.” Max rested his chin in his hand.

____

“That’s why I want one!”

____

Max only shook his head.

____

“What about you?” Neil sipped his drink. 

____

The black-haired boy shrugged. “I like dogs in general.”

____

“Missy.” Nikki whispered.

____

“What?”

____

“Missy.” Nikki said, louder with a grin spreading on her face.

____

“Oh, shut up.” Max snapped. “You thought she was cute, too.”

____

“Yeah, but I didn’t act the way you did!” She paused for a second. “Gosh, I wish I knew about your love for animals sooner! I would’ve totally taken you on one of my animal hunting sprees!”

____

“I don’t think you’d see much other than birds, bears, deer, wolves, and insects.”

____

“There were fish and beavers by the river!”

____

“And a lot of snakes.” Neil piped up.

____

“Yeah, but I don’t need to explore the woods to find snakes. I could just go across the lake to the Flower Scouts.”

____

As soon as Max finished the sentence, Nikki started snickering, then choked on a fry. “Holy crap-” She started coughing while still laughing. 

____

“Stop dying.” Max threw a crumpled napkin at the girl. 

____

Nikki wheezed. “Trying not to.” 

____

Throughout the next hour, the boys let Nikki devour the chicken while they consumed the majority of the fries. Neil made sure to watch Max eat; not for a weird reason, it was to make sure he was _eating_. He had remembered about that one file that said the boy was underweight. The kids wrapped up everything, Nikki saving a few nuggets after being told to by Neil, and exited the building. 

____

“You wanna come back with us to Dolph’s?” Nikki questioned, her face hopeful. 

____

Max seemed to think for a moment. “Eh. I won’t go inside, but sure, lead the way.” 

____

Nikki turned around and started in the direction of the German's home. The boys started to follow, but Neil couldn’t help but notice that Max had a barely noticeable limp as he finished texting someone. “Are you okay?” 

____

“Huh? Yeah, I am. Why?”

____

“You’re limping.” 

____

“Oh. Uh, yeah. My leg’s just been asleep for a while.”

____

Neil frowned. He wanted so badly to look at the Indian’s leg and to know if it was something his parents did to him. “Let me carry you.”

____

“I- It’s not that serious, Neil, really. I’m not a fuckin’ baby. I can handle one of my limbs being asleep.”

____

The nerd shook his head. “Nope. I’m carrying you.” He moved behind the shorter male.

____

“I-” Max turned, causing the two to be a mere inches away from each other. “Fine. But don’t bridal style me. That shit’s embarrassing.” He went behind Neil and got on his back.

____

Surprisingly and not-so surprisingly, Max was lighter than expected. Lighter than Homecoming night. The black-haired boy wrapped his arms around Neil’s neck and rested his chin on the brunet’s shoulder. Neil could feel Max’s breath on his neck and he honestly didn’t know how to feel about it. 

____

Neil walked quickly to catch up with his sister. 

____

She must’ve heard the footstep because she whirled around once Neil was close enough. “Why are you carrying him?”

____

“His leg’s asleep.”

____

“Uh…” Nikki eventually shrugged it off. “Anyway,” She began to go on about some students in her art class. The kids she described sounded like they belonged in third grade. “If I had a dollar for everytime Mr. Calceta told a kid to not eat the paint, I’d have, like, fourteen bucks. Teens are stupid.”

____

“They really are.” Max hummed. “Some boys were smoking weed in the bathroom the other day. Then they acted surprised when a teacher caught them.”

____

“I thought the kids found a way to hide the smell? At least, that’s what I heard.” Neil tilted his head. 

____

“They did. Someone snitched on them.”

____

“Who?” 

____

“Starts with an ‘M’, ends with an ‘ax’.” 

____

Nikki giggled while Neil cocked a brow. “Why would you snitch on them?”

____

“One of them was Jason Hatton, the asshole who kept pushing me into the damn wall. Like, leave me the fuck alone.”

____

“Wait, _kept_?” The siblings said at the same time.

____

“Shit.” Max mumbled. “Uh, yeah. A lot of times when I’m going to band he’d pass by me and try to make the wall eat me.”

____

“That jerk is in my fourth block!” Nikki exclaimed.

____

“Well, don’t expect to see too much of him. He was suspended and his mom is sending him to rehab or something.” Max slyly smiled. “I swore I’d get him back, and I did. Won’t see him for probably a month.”

____

“You think he’ll continue being an ass to you when he gets back?”

____

“If he is, the three of us’ll do something.” Max shrugged. “I’m not worried.”

____

Before anyone really knew it, they were in front of Dolph’s house. “So, what’re you planning to do now?” Neil asked.

____

“My mom’s picking me up.”

____

Neil and Nikki looked at each other, both wondering if they should try to meet or at least see the woman. Neil silently sighed and mouthed “no” at her. The whole exchange thankfully went unnoticed by the boy on the brunet’s back. 

____

“Do you wanna get off now?” Neil tentatively asked.

____

“I mean, sure-”

____

“Wait!” Nikki suddenly exclaimed. “I wanna get a picture of you two!” She whipped her phone out and almost dropped it.

____

“Uh… okay?” Max tightened his grip around Neil’s neck. They observed the girl fumbling with her phone. She backed up, trying out a few angles. 

____

“Okay… three,” the boys smiled, “two,” Max did a peace sign with his left hand, “one!” They heard the sound of the picture being taken. While Nikki put her phone away, Neil let Max down. The younger boy stretched and even felt his leg out. 

____

“You sure your leg’s okay?”

____

“It’s fine, Neil.” Max shoved his hands into his pockets. He peered around his friends. “Oh, my mom’s here.” 

____

The siblings turned around, spotting the grey sedan coming to a stop at the end of the street. Neil and Nikki shared a look. Neither of them wanted him to leave (though Neil felt like- knew- there was another reason he didn’t want Max to leave…). 

____

“See you two tomorrow.” Max waved and turned in the direction of the vehicle. He turned and temporarily disappeared into the darkness. 

____

“You think the others noticed we were gone?”

____

“Yeah.” Neil put his hands on his hips. “Preston and Ered texted me back at _Burger King_.”

____

“They did?” Nikki pulled her phone out again, checking her notifications. “Oh dang, she texted me, too.” She began typing. 

____

“Preston wanted some of the nuggets, by the way.” 

____

“Is that why you told me to save some?” The girl shivered as she answered. 

____

“Yes, and let’s get inside, it’s getting cold.”

____

“Alright.”

____

Neil walked up to the front door and fortunately found it unlocked. When he opened it up, he came face-to-face with Ered. She seemed to have been about to open the door. “Oh, hey, Neil.” She peered around him, spotting Nikki. “Hey, Niks.”

____

“Hi.” Nikki squeaked. Max was right; getting over Ered proved to be difficult for Nikki. As much as she denied still having feelings for the skateboarder, it was rather obvious they were still there. It made Neil wonder if he was obvious about his crush on Max. 

____

_‘It still feels weird to call Max that...’_ Neil tugged at the hem of his sweater. 

____

“I got these for you.” Miller trotted over to the coffee table and pointed to the two candy bags that were for the siblings. “That way you don’t have to go in _there_.” She nodded towards the hallway. “Nerris and SK were pissed you two ditched.”

____

“I wanted chicken nuggets.” Nikki shook the bag in her hand. “Oh, these are for Preston.” She handed it to the taller girl. 

____

Ered twirled around and ventured down the dark hall. The light peeked through the crack Ered made. Before she closed the door, Preston emerged from the room, quickly walking towards Nikki. Nikki’s face went through a multitude of emotions, ranging from happy to scared to confused. Without a word, Goodplay threw his arms around the girl. 

____

“O-Oh, okay, uh…”

____

Preston pulled away. “Thank you.” He was… tearing up? “Those little bits of chicken will be scrumptious.” 

____

_‘Leave it to Preston to be overdramatic.’_ Neil shook his head, half a smile on his face.

____

Preston, Ered, Nikki, and Neil hung out in the living room for the remainder of the party. Dolph and Space Kid came out to get some water and forgave Nikki and Neil for leaving; understanding the circumstances for the girl. That didn’t mean that they weren’t still upset, though.

____

No one knew that they had met up with Max.

____

Not yet, anyway.

____

When they got back home, Neil got a notification indicating that Nikki had tagged him in a [**post**](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ruWDXjibjos/XyPtfSbDysI/AAAAAAAAJPw/HkaxjYeKW8wBAUK3bStkCOIFw0n0hdyFgCK8BGAsYHg/s0/2020-07-31.jpg). Through blurred vision (he was trying to sleep after engaging in a conversation with Max about what each of them would name a pet), he tapped it, the image being the picture Nikki took of Max on Neil’s back. He would admit, he liked- loved?- the image. Neil screenshotted it, wincing at the bright flash, and ultimately decided to make the image his profile picture. He considered making it his lockscreen, but decided against it. He didn’t want to replace the bonfire.

____

* * *

____

**October 24th, 2019 (4:31 PM)**

____

“Does she like flowers?” Max lightly kicked at a bouquet of dark purple roses.

____

“She does…” Harrison played with his fingers. “But I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten her enough. Chocolates, too.”

____

Neil distanced himself from the other two boys, favoring to admire the various blue flowers in the aisle. He imagined getting them for Max, which just the thought of it made him feel warm. He doubted that would ever happen. He could dream, though.

____

“What about jewelry?”

____

“She’s not that big on that.”

____

“Clothes?”

____

“Not that either.”

____

“Jesus Christ, Harrison.” Max pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is why you shouldn’t have waited until the _day before_ your anniversary to get a gift for your girlfriend.”

____

Harrison mumbled a few words under his breath, all probably demeaning of himself.

____

The magician had followed the two to the cafeteria that morning and basically begged Max and Neil to go to the store with him later to pick something out for Nerris. Neither really understood why he couldn’t go _alone_ , but eventually the pair conceded. It wasn’t like they had any plans for the afternoon like all the others did.

____

“She’s a nerd, isn’t she?” Max walked to the end of the aisle. “Wouldn’t she like, like… something _Pokémon_? From what I remember, she likes stuffed animals.”

____

“...she _does_.” 

____

“Well, come on.” Max parted from the other boys and started in the direction of the kids stuff.

____

Harrison quickly followed, but Neil lingered for a moment or two. He remembered that Max had really liked the flowers- harebells- David and Gwen had gotten for him. Though, looking at them now, they did seem a little more on the purple side. 

____

...but it’d be weird to get him flowers, wouldn’t it?

____

Heaving a sigh, Neil followed after the others. He turned into the aisle, only to be met with something yellow hitting him square in the face. The brunet looked down to see a Pikachu dressed as a detective. When he looked back up, he saw Max and Harrison snickering. 

____

Neil reached down to grab the plush. “She’d probably like it.” He gave it to Harrison.

____

“She would.” Harrison inspected it. 

____

“I saw a Glaceon jacket over in the clothes section.” Max spoke. 

____

Harrison held the Pikachu close to his chest. “She’d like that, too.”

____

“Add a few flowers…” Max let Harrison toy with the idea.

____

“Yeah,” the magician nodded, “I think she’ll be happy with that.”

____

“Good. I can’t wait to get out of this fuckin’ place.”

____

* * *

____

**October 25th, 2019 (9:38 PM)**

____

**Max: harrison said nerris loved the gifts**

____

**Max: told u i was a goof gift giver**

____

**Max: *gopd**

____

**Max: fucj**

____

**Max: i give uo**

____

**Do we have a new nickname?**

____

**Max: no**

____

**Max: pls no**

____

**Illiterate Baby?**

____

**Max: ksdnfkdsvnskdvj “b a b y”**

____

**I mean…**

____

**You are short. ( •_•)**

____

**Max: you did not just**

____

**¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

____

**Max: .**

____

**Max: gah goo**

____

**What?**

____

**Max: that’s baby for “fuck you”**

____

**Look, you're literate again!**

____

**Max: i’m gonna come to ur house stg**

____

**And do what?**

____

**Max:** [**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF0sMmAYpNI**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF0sMmAYpNI)

____

**Max: say bye bye to ur brains**

____

**Hmmmm… don’t know if I’m intimidated by a guy who looks like this:**

____

[**[Image]**](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sid6231/images/1/1a/Sid-the-science-kid.png/revision/latest/top-crop/width/300/height/300?cb=20170101084917)

____

**Max: motherfucker**

____

**Max: idk if i’m actually offended by that**

____

**Max: and if anything he’s u >:(**

____

**How is he me??**

____

**Max: sid the SCIENCE kid**

____

**But he looks like you!**

____

**Max: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm**

____

**Max: he’s our kid then**

____

Neil’s face went redder than a tomato at that.

____

**Max: get the pens we’re adopting**

____

**I have a blue pen.**

____

**Max: ok sign the paper**

____

[**[Image]**](https://www.imperfectparent.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2015/07/iStock_000011411505Small.jpg)

____

**Max: hell yeah**

____

**Max: our son’s ugly as shit though**

____

**He gets that from you.**

____

**Max: *dramatic gasp***

____

**Max:** [**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1To_sXn9oU**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1To_sXn9oU)

____

**Max: i’ve been wounded**

____

**Max: you’ve wounded me**

____

**Did I bruise your ego?**

____

**Max: nah**

____

**Max: it’s my feelings you’ve bruised :,(**

____

**You don’t have feelings.**

____

**Max: shit u right**

____

Neil looked away from his phone as he heard a bed creak through the wall. 

____

**I think Nikki finally got off the phone with Ered.**

____

**Max: imagine being on the phone for two hours straight**

____

**Imagine texting for four hours straight.**

____

**Max: ya got me there**

____

Truthfully, the longest they had ever texted was six hours. That night, Neil was sure he was going to become asthmatic. He hadn’t laughed like that since the trio had set up the fake murder scene with Nikki being the one who “died” (in the middle of everyone crying/panicking over the “dead” girl, she had slinked away. The entire day was full of scaring the living shit out of everyone. For a week the kids believed Nikki was just a ghost).

____

**Max: ah fuck**

____

**Max: i dropped my water**

____

**Max: hold on**

____

Max disappeared from the conversation to clean up the mess he had just made. That left Neil with a few of his thoughts. Preston had still been getting those files and gave them to Nikki (since Neil was with Max most of the time). Some of them were the same; marks on his arms from nails, bruises all around on his body, and a few more mentions of Max being underweight. It honestly seemed like the first two rounds of folders were the worst and most unique. There was one about drug use, like a tranquilizer of some kind. It didn’t say which specific drug it was, though.

____

**Max: there’s a dark stain on the carpet now**

____

**Max: i hate liquid**

____

**Liquid hates you.**

____

**Max: good**

____

* * *

____

**November 1st, 2019 (5:16 PM)**

____

“Y’know, I didn’t think I’d be invited to a Halloween party.” Max hummed, his body slumping against one of the chairs. “Being the _new kid_ and all.”

____

“Well,” Nikki hopped onto the back of the other chair and let her back fall onto the seat. “Phia and Tyreik throw one every year and invite everyone in the grade; regardless of social status or how new you are.” 

____

“Have you ever gone to one of them?”

____

“Yes!” Nikki answered while Neil answered “No.”

____

“You went once!” Nikki pointed accusingly at the brunet. 

____

“And I left after an hour.”

____

“ _Buuut_ you still went!” 

____

“Why’d you leave?” Max piped up.

____

Neil crossed his arms over his chest. “Parties where the only thing I can really do is get drunk or high and nothing else isn’t something I’m interested in.”

____

“Then why are you going to this one?”

____

Neil shrugged. “It might be different with you going. If it isn’t, I’ll just leave and come home.”

____

Max nodded, then looked up at the analog clock above the TV. “Should we get going?”

____

The siblings looked at the clock, too.

____

“Yeah, we should probably go.” The teal-haired girl bounced off the chair and out the door. 

____

“If there’s gonna be alcohol at this party, then I’m terrified of what she’s like when drunk.”

____

“Then don’t let her drink.” Neil hesitantly tugged at Max’s hand. “Let’s go.” 

____

As far as Candy and Carl knew, their kids were going to Ered’s house. 

____

When the kids were a few blocks, they could easily see tons of people entering the gate of the large house. _‘It’s bigger than I remember…’_

____

The trio eventually got to the front. There were a group of teens by the doors, each holding a list.

____

“How’d they get the lists?” Max questioned.

____

“Probably the same way you got that black binder.” Neil answered.

____

“Maybe.” 

____

Once they were cleared, they entered the house. There wasn’t any music and the lights were still on. Everyone was in groups, talking amongst themselves.

____

Max checked his phone. “We’ve got three minutes until it starts.” He looked around and rubbed at his nose with his sleeve. “God, I can already smell the marijuana.” 

____

Nikki held a hand up to her own nose. “That’s the one thing I don’t like about these.” 

____

Neil sighed. “It’s probably Julius and Robert.”

____

“Don’t their parent’s own a drug farm?” Nikki inquired.

____

The brunet crossed his arms. “Where do you think they get it from?”

____

“Julius? Julius Downdry?” Max chimed.

____

“Yes?”

____

Max groaned. “Remind me to stay as far away as possible from him.”

____

Nikki tilted her head. “Why?”

____

“I hate him.” Max crossed his arms, mirroring Neil. “He’s in my history class,” he shook his head, “he’s just… _weird_. Little prick stares at me half the time and whenever there’s a group project he always wants to pair up with me.”

____

Nikki snorted. “He probably likes you!” 

____

“Yeah, I know.” Even though half his face wasn’t visible, Neil could tell Max wasn’t exactly happy. “He keeps asking me for my number. Like, ’s not gonna fuckin’ happen.”

____

“Have you told him?”

____

“Yeah. Motherfucker’s persistent.” The Indian’s voice went into a mumble. “Spouting some bullshit about ‘oh, I’ll get you’.” A fake chuckle. “No the fuck you won’t.”

____

“Hm,” Nikki peered around the boy, “well, if they’re getting high right now, they won’t bother you for the rest of the night. That group ogles at girls after they have their drugs.”

____

“God, I hope so.” Max gripped at his sleeve. “That guy sucks at flirting. Being desperate ain’t gonna do shit.”

____

Neil stood there silently. _‘So… someone else likes Max… is this what Nikki felt like?’_

____

Max seemed to look over at Neil. He opened his mouth to say something, but the loud voice of a girl stopped him.

____

Looking up, Phia was leaning over the railing of the upstairs. She welcomed everyone and announced that the party was starting. The lights turned off and mechanical shutters covered the windows as neon and strobe lights came on. Phia also announced that the kitchen was open with snacks and drinks were in the dining room. 

____

Tyreik came up behind her. He stated that anything dealing with drugs was to be done in a bathroom. Bedrooms were closed until ten.

____

Neil didn’t even want to _think_ about what was going to happen in those bedrooms (they were all fourteen, these shouldn’t even be options).

____

“I’m gonna go grab some punch.” Nikki clicked finger guns at the boys.

____

“You think it’s spiked?” Max asked.

____

“Nah, Phia and Tyreik are really strict about drugging others without their consent. If the punch gets spiked, they go into a protocol-like thing. It’s fine.” 

____

Max nodded, then looked to Neil. “You’re awfully quiet.”

____

“I’m surrounded by kids I do and don’t know. If the punch isn’t spiked, my anxiety is.”

____

Max stepped closer to Neil suddenly grabbing on his arm. “Speaking of being surrounded…” He glanced around. “I hate crowds.”

____

“That one year I went, there was a section upstairs where we could just hang out in a less-crowded space.”

____

“After Nikki gets back, can we go there?”

____

“Yeah, of course.”

____

“You think she’ll get lost?”

____

“She’s Nikki.”

____

“I don’t know if that’s a yes or a no.”

____

“Neither do I.”

____

A couple minutes later, Nikki came back with three red plastic cups. She handed one to each of the boys and the three started upstairs. Like Neil thought, a couple quiet kids were up here along with the kids with social anxiety. They found an open room (the bedrooms for… other things were downstairs) and claimed it as their own. 

____

“So, the plan is to go to Ered’s after, right?” 

____

“Uh huh.” Nikki took a swig. “It’ll be like we were never here.”

____

Neil looked over to see Max moving his cup in circles, absently watching the liquid hit the sides. 

____

Nikki watched him too. “Hey, Max,” Said boy stopped and tilted his head up, “what drug are you choosing for Health? I kinda wanna do angel dust.”

____

Neil set his cup down and leaned back on the sofa. “That’s because you saw that animated thing on YouTube, isn’t it?”

____

“What? Pffft, no.” The girl waved her hand. “...yes.” She shook her head. “Anyway, uh, which one are you doing?”

____

“I was thinking about doing diazepam.” He shrugged. “One of those tranquil drugs.”

____

Nikki turned to Neil. “Ecstasy.” She didn’t even get to ask.

____

“Why’s David even making us do this project?” Nikki wondered aloud. 

____

Max made a noise similar to a snort. “Look at the kids in the bathrooms. I think that’ll give you a pretty clear answer.”

____

The teal-haired girl took another swig. “Yeah, but all they’re doing is weed. That’s not as bad as the stuff we’re researching about.”

____

“Still drugs.” Max tipped his drink at her before taking a sip. “And who knows, someone could be doing needle shit. You don’t smell that.”

____

“Mm…” Nikki thought about it. “No, I guess you wouldn’t.” 

____

“Anyone else we know here?” Max asked.

____

“Preston.” Neil counted. “Ered, Nurf… think that’s it.”

____

“You think Charlene and James are here, too?”

____

“Charlene’s out of state.” Nikki piped in. 

____

Neil silently nodded. “I’m pretty sure I saw James. Then there’s Preston. He’ll probably get into some crazy shit.”

____

“Kids’ll be kids.” Max held his cup up and the three did a cheers.

____

* * *

____

**(8:43 PM)**

____

“I’m gonna go refill this.” Max stood up, gripping the red plastic in his hand. 

____

“Want me to come with?” Nikki perked up.

____

“Uh, why?”

____

“You’ve never been here. You might get lost.”

____

Max hummed. “No, I’ll be fine.” He left the room.

____

“I give him ten minutes.” Nikki said. “So… I’ve noticed some things about Ered and Charlene.”

____

“Like?”

____

“She’s really clingy.” 

____

“You’re just now noticing that?”

____

“No?” Nikki sighed. “Just me not trying to convince myself they’re a good match anymore.” She crushed her empty cup. “Ered’s losing interest in her. She’s actually thinking of breaking up with her soon.”

____

A sly smile appeared on the brunet’s lips. “That means you’ll have a chance again.”

____

Nikki’s face turned red. “N-No. I d-don’t…”

____

“You do though!” Neil grabbed one of Nikki’s shoulders. “Ered’s pattern of dating has slowed down over the years… you’ll have more time to get her this time.”

____

“No, I don’t have a chance. I’ve already accepted that.” She took Neil’s hand off of her. “It’s nice to dream, though.”

____

“You should at least try.”

____

“I’ve _been_ trying.”

____

“You’ve never outright told her.”

____

Nikki frowned. “Like that would go well.”

____

“You never know.” 

____

“I think I do know.” Nikki laid on her back. “Buuut… enough about that. I heard that you and Max have a son now?”

____

Neil paused for a moment, remembering about the text conversation they had a few nights ago. He stifled the laughter that bubbled up in him. “Y-Yeah. We do.”

____

“Who is he?”

____

“His name’s Sid. Wanna see a picture?”

____

“You have a picture of him?” 

____

The nerd nodded and quickly pulled up the photo of Sid the Science Kid. He flipped his phone around and immediately Nikki started laughing. “Why does it look like him!??” She rolled off the sofa, her body landing with a thump. “And he’s a _science_ kid- holy crap,”

____

“Why do you think we adopted him?”

____

Nikki tried to answer, but couldn’t as she continued to laugh. “I-I’m just imagining you and Max pulling up to drop your kid off at school and- gosh, I can’t get it out of my head.”

____

She eventually dialed down enough to sit normally on the sofa. She checked the time. “Oh, it’s been more than ten minutes.” She looked at the door. “I’m gonna go get Max. Dummy got lost.”

____

“Okay.” Neil watched her leave. He looked down at his own plastic cup, it, too, was empty. He crushed it, observing the red stick out between his hands for a few minutes. The party itself wasn’t too bad. Sure, they could’ve honestly just had a normal hangout, but there was something oddly relaxing about listening to music being blasted while muffled through a wall.

____

_“I’m tempted to put that on blast.” Max pointed at the Quartermaster’s DJ set._

____

_“What song would you play?”_

____

_He took a sip of punch. “Something David would definitely not approve of.”_

____

The brunet’s eyebrows knitted together as an idea suddenly formed in his head. He pulled his phone out and went to his contacts. 

____

**Max**

____

He tapped ‘edit’, then added what he wanted to add. 

____

**Max <3**

____

He’d regret that one day. 

____

But as of now, he was content.

____

Just as Neil was putting his phone away, Nikki bursted into the room, Ered behind her and a semi-conscious Max in her arms.

____

Neil instantly stood up, his mind racing with panic and confusion as he darted over to his sister. There were no visible marks on Max’s skin. 

____

“Neil,” She looked up at him, shaken. 

____

“We’re leaving _now_.”

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> max honey what did they do to you  
> RIP Nikki's feelings  
> #rushedendings  
> I actually watched like three minutes of Sid the Science Kid and started screaming  
> "i'M LoOkiNg FoR My fRiEndS, I'M lOoKing foR YOu"  
> im scared


	10. Winter Fragments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in just over a week (that's why it's so bad, lmao)  
> Why?  
> Because today's my birthday and I wanted to get something out ᕙ(`▿´)ᕗ  
> This is either Max and Neil or you guys by the end of the chapter: [ (•◡•)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc7Bf1RVt4A)  
> (Mentioned attempted sexual assault/drug use - Nov 2)  
> (Slight homophobia - Nov 28)  
> (Abuse/Injuries [file reading] - Dec 31 & Jan 7)  
> Also Neil totally crushing on Max :,)

**November 2nd, 2019 (7:11 AM)**

Neil gently brushed Max’s hair out of his face. He monitored his breathing- it was normal. 

_“What the hell happened!?” Neil’s hands moved under Max’s body, taking him from Nikki._

_“He was drugged.” Ered spoke, her face showing immense worry._

_“What!?” It was hard to keep his voice down. “I thought you said that no one would spike anything!”_

_“It wasn’t the punch!” Nikki exclaimed and started pulling on Neil’s sweater. She pushed Max’s hair away from his neck. There was a small dot visible. Many emotions bubbled in the brunet._

_“Who?” Neil managed to get out through tight teeth._

_“Julius.” Nikki pulled harder. “Let’s go! We need to get out of here before he gets up here!”_

He hoped that jackass would get jailed. If not, at least suspended or expelled. People like him made Neil sick. 

__

_The four were on the sidewalk now. “What…” Neil breathed in, trying to calm himself down. “What exactly happened?”_

__

_Nikki and Ered shared a look, one that practically said: “should we tell him?”._

__

_Finally, Nikki spoke. “One of the bedroom doors was slightly opened.” Neil already knew he didn’t like where this was going. “No one was supposed to be in them until ten, so I looked inside since I couldn’t find Max anywhere. Ered and Nurf came with me.” The girl’s eyes flickered to the barely conscious boy in the brunet’s arms. “Th-they-” She breathed, “there was a group of them. Laughing. Julius was sitting on his,” she gestured to Max, “stomach and was… was pinning his arms down on the b-bed… Max- he… he was really out of it but he was struggling.” Nikki shakily looked up at Ered. “Nurf and I ran in and threw Julius off of him. Ered got him o-out...”_

__

_“We told Phia.” Ered mentioned. “She was pissed.”_

__

_Neil kept his eyes forward, processing everything._

__

_And god, was he pissed the fuck off._

__

“How is he?” Ered walked in, holding a glass of water.

__

“He’s fine.” Neil responded, taking the water and placing it on the end table.

__

“...he’s lucky we got there when we did.” Ered sat beside him on the sofa bed. 

__

“Mhm.” Neil caressed Max’s head. “...any idea about what happened to that asshole?”

__

“Nurf beat him to a pulp, then Phia and Tyreik reported it. I dunno to who, but they did.”

__

“I’m glad Nurf’s insanely strong.”

__

Ered crossed her legs. “He is too.” She looked down to the Indian. “Any signs of him waking up?”

__

“He should be awake any minute now.”

__

Ered slowly nodded. “...Nik’s… not doing too great. She keeps saying she should’ve gone with him.”

__

Neil let a halfhearted laugh out. “Funny. I keep saying that to myself.”

__

Miller frowned. “It’s not your fault.”

__

“I know.”

__

They fell into silence. Neil kept running his hands through the tangled black mess in his lap while Ered awkwardly watched him. Both could hear Nikki pacing around Ered’s bathroom and running the water. Both ignored it for the time being.

__

“It’s fucked.” Ered mumbled.

__

“Eh?”

__

Ered sighed. “I don’t know the details- and I don’t know if I want to know the details, but I know some bad stuff happened to him. It’s just… so fucked up that shit’s still happening to him.”

__

Neil stared at her for a few moments. “It is.” His gaze returned to Max. “How much do you know?”

__

“I know the reason he was gone was because he was in the hospital a ton. That’s pretty much it.”

__

Neil bit his lip, wondering if he should let Ered in on everything. He ultimately decided not to. “Yeah.” The nerd quietly said. “Was Nikki the one to tell you?”

__

Ered smiled a little. “Who else?” She leaned on her elbow. “She just started to spill a lot to me one night. She was really upset.”

__

“Can you blame her?”

__

“No- no, of course not. She’s his best friend. If I were her, I’d be hella upset too.” Ered was about to say something else, but the sound of something- _someone_ \- hitting the floor caused Ered to leave the room in a hurry.

__

Neil was left alone again. Well, not _alone_. Max was there; his head in Neil’s lap, covered in a burgundy blanket. His breathing was still fine. The only thing concerning the taller male was that Max wasn’t awake yet.

__

The brunet heard a ping and looked up to see he had received a message.

__

**Sat, Nov 2, 7:32 AM**

__

**Nurf: is max okau**

__

**He hasn’t woken up yet, but he should be fine.**

__

**Thank you, by the way.**

__

**Nurf: ye**

__

**Nurf: i beat his facw in**

__

**Nurf: creep**

__

**Nurf: sexuaj asasult is not oakt**

__

**No, it’s not.**

__

**Nurf: i wanyed to kill hin**

__

**I would’ve.**

__

**Nurf: juliys is getrinh suspwndred**

__

**Good.**

__

**Nurf: txt me when hws awakr**

__

_‘I wish he could spell.’_ Neil vacantly thought. He set his device down and listened to Max’s breathing for the millionth time. He was still fine.

__

“Just wake up.” Neil quietly said. He was trying to not worry too much; Max was going to be fine.

__

_“Here,” Ered stood up, the black couch now being a black bed. “I’ll go get one of the spare blankets.” She disappeared into the hallway._

__

_“Is he…?” Nikki meekly looked at the boy in her brother’s arms._

__

_“He’ll be fine.” Neil spat quickly, carefully laying Max on the sofa. He stopped for a moment to listen for breathing and feel for a pulse._

__

_“When’ll he wake up?”_

__

_“I…” Neil blinked. “Get me my phone.”_

__

_Nikki obliged and snatched Neil’s discarded phone off the dining table. When it was in Neil’s hands, he went to Google and searched for all the tranquilizer drugs and how long they lasted. After minutes of brief searching, Neil answered. “...around twelve hours.”_

__

_“Twelve hours?” Nikki gasped. She looked back to Max, her eyes screaming guilt._

__

_Ered returned with a burgundy coverlet and two black queen pillows. “How’s he doing?” She crouched to the boys’ level._

__

_“Good so far.”_

__

Neil’s brows knitted together as his hand moved to push the hair in front of the younger boy’s eyes. Right before his fingers made contact with the black curls, Max shifted for the first time since he was drugged.

__

“Max?” Neil softly asked. Said boy murmured something and pressed his face further into Neil’s sweater. 

__

“Max.” Neil said again, a little louder.

__

“Hm?” Max clumily sat up, his hair assaulting Neil’s face.

__

After moving his head back, Neil cleared his throat. “How are you feeling?”

__

“Neil?” Max mumbled, his body crashing into the brunet’s. It was like a hug, almost, the black-haired boy’s chin on Neil’s right shoulder. “Mm… tired.” He turned his head. “My head hurts a little… thirsty.”

__

Neil’s gaze flickered to the water sitting on the end table. He gently pushed Max off of him and reached for it. Max stared at it before taking it with shaky hands. He downed it like his life depended on it. “God, that feels better.”

__

“You sound better.”

__

“Gee, thanks.” He handed the glass back to Neil. He rubbed his head. “What the fuck happened?”

__

“What do you remember?”

__

“Mm… I went to get a drink… then that weirdo came up to me.” Max recalled. “He started flirting and I ignored ‘im. Was leaving the kitchen but then I felt a sharp pain in my neck and everything started feeling fuzzy…” It seemed to dawn on him. “Oh shit. Was I fucking drugged?”

__

Neil solemnly nodded. “He’s getting suspended.”

__

Max sighed and put his hands to his face. “Goddammit. What’d he do?”

__

The brown-haired boy considered lying to him, but he knew Max would want the truth (it wasn’t like he was going to get away with lying, this was Max). “We think he was trying to… not… not rape,” the word hurt to say, “but definitely sexually assault you.” _‘Hopefully that was just it…’_

__

“Wh-” Max spluttered. “What the _fuck_!?” His arms grabbed his own upper arms and pulled his legs in.

__

“He didn’t get to do anything!” Neil quickly reassured. “Nurf, Nikki, and Ered got there in time to stop him.”

__

“...he’s getting suspended?”

__

Neil nodded, a small smile forming on his face. “Nurf beat the shit out of him.”

__

Max actually returned the smile. “Good.”

__

The two stared at each other for a couple seconds in a comfortable silence. Neil was the one to look away and clear his throat. “You hungry?”

__

“A little.” Max admitted, his body still curled into a ball.

__

“You like cake?”

__

“Depends. What kind?”

__

“Chocolate.” 

__

Max relaxed and leaned back on his hands. “What do you think?”

__

The brunet chuckled. “Alright.” He stood and stretched, feeling and hearing some of his joints popping. He hadn’t stood up (or moved, really) since he started watching Max. He waltzed over to the fridge and took out the cake that Ered said they could have.

__

There was only a bit left so he just grabbed a fork and gave the container to Max.

__

“That’s the last time I’m going to a party.” Max poked the chocolate sweet. 

__

“Same.”

__

The two were engaged in a conversation about the people at school when the girls walked in. As soon as Nikki saw Max, she yelled his name and practically leaped on him. Neil noticed how he flinched. The girl was a sobbing mess.

__

“Alright, alright… Jesus Christ get off me.”

__

* * *

__

**November 12th, 2019 (6:09 PM)**

__

“It was _not_ pretty.” Nikki folded the lasagna with her fork. “She was, like, screaming at Ered. And Ered stood there and just took it! She didn’t care!” She gushed. “It was so cool!”

__

Neil blankly nodded. “What happened to ‘getting over Ered’?”

__

Nikki flailed her hand at him. “My crush on Ered was on temporary leave.”

__

“You sure? Or was it on its way out but then crashed right back into the airport?”

__

The girl pursed her lips at her brother. “I like to think of it as temporary leave.”

__

Neil only rolled his eyes as the siblings finished off their dinner. Ered had officially broken up with Charlene and Nikki was back to openly crushing over the skater. How Ered failed to notice Nikki was baffling to everyone in the group.

__

While Nikki continued to ramble on about Ered, Neil pulled his phone out and re-read everything on the website he was on. He’d spent the last few days designing and was just in the final few steps. What was he designing? A guitar. Max had offhandedly mentioned one his oldest guitars had split apart a week prior and since Christmas (Neil learned Max started celebrating that) was coming up, he thought it’d be nice to get him something. The guitar’s design was based off of Camp Campbell, the neck being the flagpole, the back of the body saying “CAMP CAMPBELL”, and the body itself having the shapes of the “signature” trees on the campground. Max could deny it, but Neil knew he liked that camp. 

__

_‘Maybe he’s going this year?’_

__

* * *

__

**November 15th, 2019 (12:34 PM)**

__

“The effects of it can be immediate.” Max blandly said, reading off a paper. “The victim can become dizzy and unaware of their surroundings.” He kept reading, his tone unwavering. 

__

They were presenting their drug projects. Max decided to use his experience at the party in his essay. The teens who went to the party decided to keep quiet about that night since Max wanted them to. The four (Nurf, Ered, Nikki, and Neil) were visibly uncomfortable as Max started to describe a scenario of someone being drugged at a gathering. As far as everyone else knew, it was just an oddly detailed event. To those four and Max, it was real. Very real. 

__

At the end, the kids clapped (as they were told to by David), some more enthusiastic than others. 

__

“That was great Max,” David cleared his throat. “But, uh, why was that example so… descriptive?” He awkwardly laughed. “It almost sounded like a real situation.”

__

Max dully looked at David. “That’s ‘cause it _did_ happen.”

__

David blinked. “Wh-what?” 

__

“I got drugged, dumbass.” Max grabbed his bookbag and swung it over his shoulder. 

__

Neil looked around and noticed the various facial expressions of the other kids. The ones who hadn’t known were shocked, even Nerris. The bell rang and the teens started piling out of the room.

__

“Wait, Max!” David started walking towards the boy. 

__

Max grabbed Nikki’s wrist and Neil’s hand and bolted with a hushed “run, motherfuckers!” while the others watched. 

__

They pushed past the crowds of kids in the hall, not looking back to see if David was actually following them. Max let go of the siblings after diving into the hallway that led to the roof. 

__

Max turned to Nikki. “You ever wanted to go to the roof?”

__

Nikki sheepishly nodded. “Yeah, actually.”

__

“Today’s that day.” Max huffed and the boys led Nikki to the door. Max was the last one in and checked to make sure David wasn’t coming. Neil took Nikki up the stairs and the two exited the building. 

__

“Wow.” Nikki put her hand up above her eyes as she looked around. “Didn’t expect it to look like this.”

__

“Well, what _did_ you expect? It’s a rooftop.”

__

“Iunno.” Nikki shrugged. “What do you two do up here, anyway? Just talk?”

__

“Pretty much, yeah.” The nerd sat in his usual spot. “Sometimes we toss pebbles at cars.” He flicked one off the roof. “Sometimes Max sleeps.” 

__

“Hm…” Nikki looked over the edge. “Ever thought about leaving?”

__

“Eh?”

__

“Ditching school.” The teal-haired girl clarified. “We could probably climb down and just straight up leave. Max said the security sucks and I don’t see any cameras out here.”

__

“Our absence in fourth block would be recorded, though. You hear what happened to Krystal Jodrign? She ditched so many times they actually had teachers watching her every second of the day.” Neil countered. “I’d rather have my freedom, thanks.”

__

Nikki pouted. “But would you do it if you had to?”

__

Neil opened his mouth to respond, but Max said something first. “We’re clear, I think. Saw David walk past the hall, probably to the cafeteria.” He shut the rooftop door behind him. “Can’t wait for him to question me about that.”

__

“Then you shouldn’t have said it.” Neil rested his elbow on his knee. “I thought you wanted to stay silent about what happened that night.”

__

Max shrugged. “I did, but then I thought about using it as an example for the project. Guess I just described it too much.” He flopped down into his spot. “So, how’s your guys’ day been?”

__

Nikki opted to sit on the other side of Max. “Ered’s taking me to the arcade tomorrow.”

__

Max lied on his back. “Are you two dating?”

__

“N-No!” Nikki’s face became red in a split second. “No- I... we’re still just friends.”

__

“You said ‘still’!” Max pointed accusingly at the girl. 

__

“Shh!!” Nikki shoved Max, causing him to roll into Neil’s legs. 

__

“ _ACK-_ ” The black-haired boy yelped when his back made contact with the nerd’s knee. 

__

Neil shifted. “You okay?”

__

“Uh huh.” Max said, a quiet laugh escaping his lips. “And _you_ ,” His finger was in Nikki’s direction. “You should grow some damn balls and ask Ered out already!”

__

“It’s not that easy. And for your information, I do have some!”

__

Both boys expressed confusion. 

__

“Right here.” Nikki’s hands patted her chest.

__

The three fell into a silence.

__

Max suddenly stood up and stalked towards the adventurer. “I’m pushing her off the roof.”

__

“Max- MAX!” The siblings shouted (Nikki’s with a bit of laughter mixed in) as Max grabbed Nikki by the shoulders and started pushing her towards the edge.

__

* * *

__

**November 18th, 2019 (2:21 PM)**

__

“Hey, uh, are you friends with Max Jones?” Neil looked up from his phone to see a tall boy with chocolate brown hair and dark purple eyes. 

__

“...yes? Why?”

__

The boy breathed in, then out, and pulled him to the side of the hall. “Look, man, I am so sorry about what happened to him. I had no idea Julius was gonna try to-”

__

“Woah, woah, slow down.” Neil held up his hand. “First, who are you?”

__

“Ian. One of Julius’ friends.” Ian fidgeted with his hands. “L-Like I said, I’m so sorry about what Julius did. We should’ve stopped him but-”

__

“You should be apologizing to Max. Not me.” 

__

“I know- and I’ve been trying to find him… and I- I knew you were friends with him.”

__

Neil narrowed his eyes. “Why are you apologizing _now_? Why didn’t you do it the day after it happened?”

__

“I… well, we didn’t know which Neil. You’re the seventh one I’ve talked to… you are the right one, right?” 

__

The nerd nodded slowly. “I am… aren’t you in Nikki’s art class? Why not apologize to her? She’s his best friend, too.”

__

“I didn’t… know… that.” Ian shook his head. “He didn’t say her name.”

__

That caught Neil’s attention. “What do you mean?”

__

The corner of Ian’s lip twitched. “I don’t remember too much, but… when Julius was… when Julius had him pinned, he was saying the names ‘David’ and ‘Neil’. Me and the boys assumed you and some other guy called David were his friends…”

__

The image of a drugged out Max pitifully crying out under that dickweed’s grasp burned itself into Neil’s mind. It made his blood boil but he knew he had to stay calm. _‘...why call out to me and David? Why not Nikki?’_

__

“Um- so, again, I am so sorry. We… we knew he liked Max, we just didn’t think he’d do… that. We should’ve known something was up when he refused to get high with us…”

__

_‘He wasn’t high when he did it?’_ That made Neil more pissed. That meant Julius was in full control of his actions. Fully aware.

__

“I… I’ll pass it on to Max.” Neil rubbed at the bridge of his nose, then checked his phone. “Thanks, I guess.” He roughly pushed past Ian. “Just, when Julius comes back, make sure he doesn’t even fucking _look_ at Max or there will be absolute hell to pay.” 

__

It was fun to see a “popular” or “dickish jock” kid cower under the gaze of someone who was classified as a “loser” and “nerd”. 

__

Made Neil feel powerful.

__

* * *

__

**November 28th, 2019 (6:12 PM)**

__

Neil hated this. Why did he _have_ to celebrate Thanksgiving with his mom? Don’t get him wrong, he was glad he was spending it with her (he only sees her two or three times a year), but it was an absolute hell to listen to her and her side of the family rant and rave about the littlest things. It doesn’t help when she asks what he thinks and he has a different opinion than her. He does _not_ want to sit through another hour of hearing how he’s “wrong”.

__

Especially when it comes to homosexuality. Don’t even get Neil _started_ on every anti-LGBT+ thing she and her friends/family have ever said. It isn’t even like she normally talks about those things, it’s always when she’s around her sisters.

__

He loves his mom, but there are times where he just _doesn’t._

__

Like right fucking now.

__

“So, Neily…” Neil’s right eye twitched at the nickname. There was only one person who could call him that and Neil wouldn’t mind it, and when they did, it was jokingly. The nerd prepared himself for whatever was about to be thrown at him. “Any girls you’ve been interested in?”

__

It took everything to not blurt out “boys” and tell her about his crush. Why were both of his parents so eager to know about his love life? “No.” He said rather quickly. He was used to this question. Every fifth phone call or so the topic would always come up.

__

“Honey,” Neil hated when she called him that, too. The woman paused, seemingly trying to word her sentence right. He knew that face. “Are you sure? You’re not letting your stepmother or her daughter get into your head, are you?”

__

Could he leave? Could he leave right now? Just… up and out? His mom had learned that Nikki was a lesbian (something she was open about and luckily her mother and Carl had been accepting. It even gave Neil enough courage to come out to his dad) and she wasn’t happy that her son was in a “brain-warping” environment. 

__

Neil was so thankful that his father promised to keep quiet about him being bisexual. 

__

Maybe he’d write that for the “thankful” wall at school. He’d be anonymous.

__

“No.” Neil said, sounding more annoyed than he wanted. He fixed his tone when his mother glared at him. “No, I mean.”

__

“Are you sure?” His mother circled her tea. “You can always come live with me.”

__

_‘And leave Max and everyone else? No thanks.’_ Neil directed his gaze elsewhere. “No, I’m fine where I am.” 

__

His mom pouted. He knew how much his mother wanted him to come live with her. He remembered when she was screaming over the phone when the decision to live with his father was finalized. 

__

He picked at the turkey on his plate, tuning out whatever conversation his mother was having with his aunt. He was _so bored_. It was like this every Thanksgiving. 

__

**Thurs, Nov 28, 6:32 PM**

__

**Max <3: how’s ur day going**

__

Neil immediately smiled to himself. He set his fork down and grabbed his phone to respond. 

__

“Ah ah,” Neil’s mom stole her son’s phone from him. A wave of panic flooded Neil. What if she saw the heart? “No phones at the table.”

__

The panic subsided as he saw his phone had locked and Max probably wasn’t going to keep texting him. He narrowed his eyes as he looked over to his younger cousin on the opposite side of the table happily tapping away at whatever dumb mobile game she liked at the moment. The brunet looked down at his plate. He wasn’t allowed to leave the table until he was done eating and he couldn’t have his phone until he left the table… 

__

Neil had honestly never eaten that fast in his life (though, there really wasn’t much. Just some turkey, a dollop of mashed potatoes, and two seasoned carrots). Once he was done, he snatched his phone back and left the table as if he’d just committed a murder and was hurrying away from the crime scene. He heard his mother call after him, but he didn’t really care as he ducked around the corner and into the unlit hallway. He was bored and he knew talking to Max would change that. 

__

Neil pushed open the back door and stepped out onto the porch. The nerd looked around, establishing that… there was no gate. He frowned. The fence was rather tall and he didn’t trust himself enough to be able to successfully hop over. Neil looked to his left, an idea suddenly forming. The fence was a foot or so away from the porch railing. He could get on the railing and hop over.

__

...it was better than trying to climb over the whole thing. Neil tightly held his phone in one hand and slowly made his way on top of the railing. _‘Don’t fall, don’t fall, don’t fall, don’t you fucking fall.’_ He reached out, his fingers brushing over the wood, and gripped it. He breathed in, preparing for a jump. Neil pushed himself onto the fence and exhaled. One leg was over. 

__

The boy managed to maneuver his way onto the other side of the fence. He was out. A tiny smile formed on Neil’s face. All those times climbing the rock to the cave really did help. He pulled his phone out and decided to call Max. 

__

It only rang for a few seconds.

__

**“Why are you calling me?”**

__

“I thought it was better than texting.” Neil slid against the side of the house. He brought his knees close to his chest, a warm smile manifesting on his lips. “And I want to hear someone other than my mom’s voice.” He shook his head. “I forgot how much she talks.”

__

**“Is it better than hearing Nikki all the time everyday?”**

__

“Oh god, no.” Neil leaned his head against the wall. “At least Nikki doesn’t nag and ask questions all the damn time. Like, I know I haven’t seen my mom in a few months, but don’t fucking bombard me with questions.” He sighed. “And they’re not even fun questions. They’re boring.”

__

**“What’d be a ‘fun’ question?”** Max asked.

__

“I don’t know… ‘what’s your favorite way to eat cereal’? It’s better than ‘your stepmother and stepsister suck, how are you?’”

__

**“‘Your stepmother and stepsister suck’? What’s she got against them?”**

__

Neil picked at the grass. “Nikki’s a lesbian and Candy… enabled it, I guess.”

__

**“Ew, is she homophobic?”**

__

“More like LGBT-phobic.”

__

**“Now I don’t like either of your parents.”**

__

Neil snorted. “If they weren’t mine, I wouldn’t like them either.”

__

**“Unconditional love sucks.”**

__

“Sometimes it does.” A beat. “What’re you doing?”

__

**“Waiting for the pie to finish baking. Er, _pies_.”**

__

Neil puffed. “Lucky. I don’t get dessert on Thanksgiving.”

__

**“What?? Dessert’s the best part!”** Neil heard some rustling on Max’s end. **“I can save you some. You like pumpkin, apple…?”**

__

“I do like apple.” A car drove by. 

__

**“It has cinnamon on it.”**

__

“That’s even better.” Max went completely mute. “Uh, Max?” 

__

His mic came back on. **“Sorry, accidentally muted. Uh- shit-”** A loud clang. **“Dammit. Give me a second, Neil.”** The brunet heard what sounded like a pan. He assumed Max had knocked it over or dropped it. **“I hate this fuckin’ kitchen,”** The younger boy mumbled. Then, a few thumps (footsteps, maybe) and a door opened. 

__

“Why do you hate the kitchen?”

__

**“Normally don’t. But today it’s really dirty and full of food. You could breathe and knock something over.”**

__

“Everyone had to bring something here. Everything’s all neat in the kitchen.”

__

**“Lucky you. My… dad’s dad was hellbent on having the family come over here. Really overwhelming with how many people there are.”** Another door could be heard opening, then crickets. It sounded like Max had stepped outside. 

__

“So overwhelming you stepped outside?”

__

**“You’re outside too, aren’t you?”**

__

“Yeah, but it’s because I didn’t want my family to hear me talking to you. They question me about everything.”

__

Max snickered. **“I know how that feels. Went through the same thing today. Nice to get away for a while.”**

__

Neil sighed. “Man, I wish I was back there. I’d love to ditch this place.”

__

**“You’d rather spend time with me than your own mother?"** By the tone of his voice, Neil knew Max was smirking. **“You’re not setting a good example for Sid.”**

__

Neil laughed. “Like you’d be a better one.”

__

**“Ouch, I’m hurt.”** The brunet guessed Max was lying in the grass. **“Which sucks because I’m all out of band-aids from all the other times you’ve hurt me. There are so many across my heart, I made a new one.”**

__

The older boy put on the fake royal voice. “Oh, whatever could I do to make you feel better?” 

__

**“Iunno.”** Neil swore he could hear Max shrug. **“Kiss it to make it feel better?”**

__

If Neil said he didn’t almost drop his phone, he’d be lying. He quickly gathered himself, knowing that if he took too long to respond, it would get awkward quickly. “K-Kiss what? Your chest?”

__

Max laughed. **“I dunno… my hand? Like royalty.”**

__

Neil lighty snorted. “Next time I see you.”

__

**“You’re gonna forget.”**

__

“Bet.” Neil put his arm around his knees. “I’ll do it in front of everyone in Health.”

__

**“You won’t do shit.”**

__

“I will pick you up and force you to stand in front of everybody while I do it.”

__

**“I’d like to see you try.”**

__

“You’ll see.”

__

* * *

__

**December 2nd, 2019 (11:03 AM)**

__

“Max was here this morning, wasn’t he?” Nikki asked as the bell rang. 

__

“He’s ditching.” Neil crossed his arms as he looked to his left. _‘Probably to avoid getting embarrassed by me.’_

__

“Why?”

__

Neil didn’t want to tell her, so he just shrugged. David had asked of Max’s whereabouts, but none of the kids had an answer. David frowned but swifty replaced it with a smile. He went on with his lesson as normal while also gathering the work Max would have to do.

__

“What do you think he’s doing?” Nikki flung her health book open. 

__

“Probably hanging around somewhere. Maybe the rooftop. No one seems to check there.”

__

“Ah.” The girl clicked her mechanical pencil. “He probably is. Or he’s ditching completely. Wouldn’t be surprised.”

__

Neil only shrugged as he began his work. 

__

**Mon, Dec 2, 12:36 PM**

__

**Max <3: >>>:)**

__

**You sneaky bastard.**

__

**Max <3: lmao, c u at lunch losrr**

__

Neil decided to stop working. There were only a few blanks left and he knew the textbook answers were on the internet if he needed them. Class was almost over anyway. Neil pulled his bag on top of his desk and started scrolling through Instagram. 

__

_‘Harrison took Nerris to the fair yesterday.’_ He liked the image and moved on. He continued until the bell inevitably rang. _‘I’m fuckin’ coming Max.’_

__

He was going to stay true to his word, dammit. 

__

The brunet sped out of the classroom and at the speed of light, turned into the hallway to the roof. He ran up the stairs and threw the door open with such force that he was surprised it didn’t break off the hinges. 

__

“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST-” Max scrambled back. He had been right in front of the door.

__

“Sorry, sorry!” Neil apologized, then regained his composure. He cleared his throat and began speaking in the fake accent. “I’ve come to collect what I owe.”

__

Max mouthed what Neil just said to himself. “Does that even make sense?”

__

Neil shrugged. He was never that good at poetry. ...if that even _was_ poetry.

__

The taller male stepped forward, taking Max’s left hand in his own, then took a knee.

__

“Oh shit-” Max stumbled back a little. “You’re actually gonna-”

__

Neil shut his eyes and pressed his lips to Max’s knuckle. After what felt like long enough, he pulled away and stood. A dumb smile that he couldn’t rid of was on his face along with what was probably (hopefully) a light blush painting his cheeks. 

__

Max stood there staring at his hand.

__

“Told ya.” Neil nudged the shorter boy.

__

Max quickly shook his head, a smile on his lips. “No one witnessed it though.”

__

“Well, they would’ve if _someone_ showed up to class.”

__

“Then I’m even happier that I didn’t.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “If you try to pull this shit in class tomorrow, I swear to god I will steal your kneecaps.”

__

“Jokes on you, Nikki took those a long time ago.”

__

“Fuck.”

__

* * *

__

**December 13th, 2019 (5:43 PM)**

__

**Fri, Dec 13, 5:43 PM**

__

**You’re gonna be great, shut up. >:(**

__

**Max <3: should i reiterate**

__

**Max <3: I**

__

**Max: <3: HAVE**

__

**Max <3: A**

__

**Max <3: SOLO**

__

**Max <3: it’s bad enough that i’m sitting on the edge so everyone can see me**

__

**You’re on the edge? That means it’ll be easier to take pictures! :)**

__

**Max <3: NO**

__

**Max <3: dammit gtg**

__

**Max <3: don’t you dare take any pictures stg**

__

**I don’t know if I can stop Nikki.**

__

**Max <3: :(**

__

Neil put his phone away, then turned to Nikki. “He doesn’t want pictures taken of him.”

__

“What?” Nikki pouted.

__

Neil slyly grinned. “ _But_ , he never said anything about videos.”

__

Nikki brightened. “Good! I deleted a bunch of apps so I could get videos.” She shifted in her seat. The siblings came early on purpose and snagged chairs at the very front of the auditorium. 

__

Max was _so_ going to hate them.

__

Eventually the band came out and started preparing on stage. The siblings searched the crowd of kids in the darkness. “Oh!” Nikki tugged on Neil’s arm. “There!” She pointed and Neil followed. Moving up to the front was Max, violin and binder in hand. Max seemed to spot them as he paused, then shook his head as he took a seat.

__

They started playing, though it seemed to be a warm-up. A couple minutes later, they stopped and the stage lights came on while the audience lights dimmed. 

__

_‘Holy shit.’_

__

Max was in a suit.

__

And goddamn did he look ~~hot~~ good in it.

__

The director started talking, but Neil didn’t hear him. He was too focused on Max. He couldn’t pry his eyes away even if he wanted to. 

__

He knew his face was red, he just hoped Nikki (or anyone, really) didn’t notice.

__

The next thing Neil knew, the band started playing the music and Nikki was recording. His eyes and ears refused to let him focus on anything other than the black-haired teen. The violin stuck out so much that Neil almost didn’t realize Max had started his solo. 

__

Max’s classmates weren’t lying when they said he was good at the violin. 

__

After the band finished the three songs (if you asked Neil what they sounded like, he wouldn’t be able to tell you. If you asked him what the violin solo sounded like, he could easily tell you), the director started talking again. He thanked everyone, then led the band off the stage. Tired adults started piling out of the auditorium to go collect their children, Neil and Nikki emerging with them. They followed the crowd to the arts hall and waited for Max to come out. 

__

When he did, the siblings ran over. Neil briefly threw his arms around Max, his face beaming. “You were great!” He praised when he let go.

__

“I-uh, th-thanks.” Max shyly grinned. 

__

“You put everyone else to shame!” Nikki piped. “You should totally make your own song or something!”

__

The Indian lightly laughed. “Already have.”

__

“You should play them when we get to our house!”

__

“I…” Max dragged the letter out, “don’t know about that.”

__

The adventurer frowned. “Why not?”

__

Max held his violin case close to him. “It wouldn’t sound right without the words.” He started walking down the hall towards Candy and Carl. “And I am _not_ singing in front of you two.”

__

“ _But Max_!!” Nikki started after him, Neil quickly losing both in the crowd. _‘Goddammit.’_ He pushed his way through the crowd and outside, spotting Nikki chasing Max to the car. The brunet caught up to his father and Candy, opting to walk with them instead of running after his friends.

__

* * *

__

**(8:21 PM)**

__

“Fuck.” Max threw his hands down in frustration. “The fucking button’s stuck.” He’d got the jacket off, but the white button up shirt was stubborn. 

__

Neil stared at him, then decided to take matters into his own hands. He reached over and attempted to unbutton the shirt. Took a while, but he was successful. 

__

“Thanks.” Max muttered. Probably unexpectedly to Max, Neil undid the other buttons too. He used to wear shirts with buttons all the time; he was an expert at this. “I-uh-” Max staggered as the last one came undone. “Thanks, again?” He swiftly stood and retreated into Neil’s closet.

__

The younger boy had been wearing a white tank underneath the button up. His chest had been exposed. 

__

Even though he couldn’t see much, what he thought he saw made Neil uneasy. It looked like there had been scars in straight lines on the left side of his body and lighter dots directly on his collarbone. 

__

_Burns are the size of a cigarette._

__

And with how quick Max got out of sight… Neil didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit.

__

When Max re-emerged, he was wearing a big red crew neck sweater. Of course, it was Neil’s. Why he always took Neil’s clothes when he slept over... Neil honestly didn’t know. He had his own pajamas; Neil had seen them in pictures Max posted on his story. It was bemusing.

__

* * *

__

**December 21st, 2019 (11:53 AM)**

__

Neil stared down at the long wrapped box in front of him. The guitar had arrived two days ago and Neil absolutely loved how it came out. He hoped Max would like it too. 

__

“Neil, it’s your friend!” His dad called.

__

Neil blinked. Who? He clambered out of his room and peered down the stairs. The door was open and there stood Max, two large white bags in his hands. He flashed a small smile.

__

Confused, the brunet made his way downstairs. “Hey,” He greeted. “Why’re you here?” He looked down at the bags. “What’re those?”

__

“Uh, I’m going out of town for winter break, so I thought I should give these to you guys now.” He held one out to Neil after checking the nametag. 

__

Neil peeked into the bag, but whatever was inside was obscured by black tissue paper. “You can open it now, if you want.” Max set the other one down. It’s tag said _‘Nikki’_. 

__

The nerd sat on the floor and reached into the bag. He pulled a small box out. It looked like it contained a candle. Carefully, he pried the box open and, yeah, it was a candle. It said _Cinnamon Spiced Vanilla_. It was the one from the mall that he had liked. He put it aside and pulled something else out. It was a book of science puns. He laughed. “Really?”

__

“Really.” Max affirmed with a grin. 

__

A bundle of green was at the bottom. He felt it, it was something soft. Probably some sort of clothes. He lifted it and saw a drawcord pop out. It was a hoodie. Neil let it hang and noted the design. “Is…” He held back another laugh as he turned it around. “Is this the molecule for LSD?”

__

“Perhaps…” Max took a seat next to Neil and crossed his legs. It was the molecule for LSD and a diagram of an atom. “Think you could wear it to school?”

__

“Doubtful.” Neil shook his head. “But… I’ll wear it the day we get back to school.”

__

“I’ll bully David into letting you wear it in Health.” Max scooted closer to Neil.

__

The brunet only chuckled in response. He pulled a black jacket out. It was plain on the front but the back was a completely different story. There were three circles towards the bottom, one blue, one green, and one pink. At the top, it said ‘NEIL’ in blue. It clicked, then. It was a custom jacket. “Holy shit.” Neil felt it. He looked over at the other bag. 

__

“If you’re gonna ask if I got Nikki one too, you’d be correct. I didn’t know what to get her and I saw a custom make-thing shop and just kinda… yeah. I know it’s not that good, but it’s something.”

__

“No, no, it’s good. I like it. I’m sure she will too.”

__

Max looked behind him. “Where is she, anyway?”

__

“She went to volunteer at the animal shelter. I’ll text you her reaction, if you want.”

__

Max slowly nodded. He checked his phone. “I gotta run.”

__

Neil watched Max about to stand up as he remembered about the guitar. “Wait!” He got on his feet. “Stay right there, let me go get something.” Neil ran upstairs and grabbed the wrapped box. He nearly tripped down the stairs as he came back. Max immediately eyed the large box. 

__

“The fuck is that?” Max inquired as Neil set the box in front of him. 

__

The taller boy huffed. “Open it and find out.”

__

Max hesitantly started tearing the paper away. It was just a cardboard box underneath. Max showed confusion as he found where the box opened. He had only lifted it a little bit before he slammed it back down and rolled onto his back. “You- you did not-”

__

“Look at it!” Neil laughed, holding his hand out for Max to take. 

__

When Max was back up, he slowly lifted the box lid again. “And it’s custom made, holy shit.” He ran his hand over the strings, hearing the sound. 

__

“So…” Neil tapped the floor. “Do you like it?”

__

Without missing a beat, Max replied, “कमबख्त मुझसे शादी कर लो।”

__

Neil processed what was said to him. “What?”

__

“What?” 

__

“What’d you just say?”

__

“I said ‘I like it’.”

__

“Oh.” _‘Did… did he say that? Was that even English!?’_ “I’m glad you like it.”

__

“I… thank you.” The shorter teen was at a loss for words. He pulled the guitar out and played the first few notes of an all too familiar song before putting it back and closing the lid. The pair stood up, Max standing the box with him. 

__

“I liked what you got me-” Neil turned to be met with Max moving his hands out as if to cup Neil's face, then jerking them back to his sides, all in the blink of an eye.

__

After a beat of awkward silence, Max cleared his throat. “I-I have to go. Th-thanks again, Neil.” He lifted the box and swiftly left the house, leaving Neil a slightly confused red mess.

__

* * *

__

**December 31st, 2019 (4:59 PM)**

__

_‘The jacket’s cute on him.'_ Neil thought, looking at Max’s most recent story. He had taken a photo in the black custom jacket he’d gotten himself. God, he was so photogenic. 

__

He finally backed out of Instagram to see that he had received over twenty messages. Thinking it was Max, Neil hurriedly tapped on the message app.

__

It wasn’t Max. It was Preston.

__

He looked at the latest few.

__

**Tues, Dec 31, 2019 (5:06 PM)**

__

**Preston: Neil**

__

**Preston: Neil I need you answer now**

__

**Preston: Its about Max**

__

**Preston: Please Neil**

__

Neil could feel his stomach drop. Was Max in danger? He was with his parents somewhere across the country in Maryland... was he okay?

__

**What about Max?**

__

Neil didn’t get a text back, instead, he got a call. He answered it as soon as the screen came up. 

__

**“You and Nikki, my house, now.”**

__

“Wh-? No- Preston, what does this have to do with Max?”

__

**“I… I got a file. It… it’s really, really fucking bad and you and Nikki need to see it. You need to.”**

__

Preston hung up and Neil threw on the closest jacket to him. He barrelled into Nikki’s room without warning, earning a yelp out of the girl.

__

“What the heck, Neil!?”

__

“We’re going to Preston’s.” Neil spoke quickly. 

__

“Wh-? Why?”

__

Neil started backing out of the room. “He said he got another file. It- apparently it’s really bad and he needs us to see them.”

__

“I- okay??” Nikki followed her brother down the stairs, put shoes on, and sped out the door. Luckily Preston didn’t live too far away.

__

“Can you please explain more?” Nikki huffed as she caught up to him. “What do you mean ‘really bad’? Why couldn’t he have just given us the file like he always does?” 

__

“I-I don’t know.” Neil spat. “He- he just sounded serious a-and…” He shook his head, deciding not to say anything else. His steps quickened. 

__

Nikki managed to keep up. She didn’t say anything as the two continued to Preston’s. Neil didn’t realize they were there until he was in front of a dark green door. He rapped on the door and anxiously waited for someone to open it.

__

“...what do you think it is?” Nikki heaved. “If Preston thinks this one is bad enough that he needs us to come to his house to see it...”

__

Before Neil could respond, Preston pulled open the door. Upon seeing them, he dragged them inside and upstairs, all without a word. 

__

Preston let go of them once they reached his room. He grabbed a rather… _large_ file and sat at a desk. There were two other open chairs. Preston motioned for them to sit. They did.

__

“So,” Preston shakily took a breath. “I found _this_.” He opened up the file, taking a few papers out. He was just going to get into it. “May 26th, 2018.” Preston peeked at the siblings, as if he was unsure if he should even continue. 

__

He took another breath and began. 

__

“Long marks on arms, most likely from fingernails.” Both Neil and Nikki were hyper focused on what the theatre boy was saying. It wasn’t new, so far.

__

“Diagonal cut across the nose bridge, probably related to smaller cuts around the hairline. Glass shards found in victim’s hair. Appears to be from a beer bottle.”

__

Neil already felt the anger bubble. Obviously a glass bottle had been used to strike the boy in the head. He looked across the desk, seeing Nikki processing everything.. 

__

Preston paused. “Vi-” he took another breath, “Victim left blind in the left eye.” 

__

_“Victim left blind in the left eye."_

__

“What?” Neil found himself saying.

__

Preston gave him a solemn glance, but didn’t answer. He continued reading. “Victim was sh-shot in the right shoulder.” Nikki gasped, but neither boy looked at her. “Small- probable- window glass sh-shards in the thighs.” He closed the file and folded his hands on the table.  
He was shaking. He didn’t want to read more. Couldn’t. 

__

Nikki had started crying, and Neil just had a blank face. “Is…” Neil pictured Max in his head. “You… you think… _that’s_ why he keeps his eyes covered?” He slowly said. 

__

“B-But,” Nikki spluttered. “We-we’ve seen his eyes before, right? They were f-fine!”

__

“...but… has he ever uncovered both at the same time?”

__

The adventurer thought for a second. “..n-no, never at the s-same time.”

__

Preston stayed out of the conversation. “Have you ever seen his bare skin? He… he wears long-sleeved and baggy stuff all the time.” 

__

“God…” Nikki put a hand to her forehead as more tears fell. “What do we do?” Her hand flailed on the desk. “We have to get him out of that house.”

__

“He’s in Maryland, right now.”

__

Preston quietly chimed in. “What if you call him? Every day?”

__

“That’d annoy him.” Neil retorted. 

__

Goodplay stared Neil dead in the eyes. “Not if it’s you.”

__

Neil stared back. “W-What’s that supposed to mean?”

__

“You’re the closest person to Max- c-closer than me!” Nikki reasoned. “You text and- and call all the time. Out of everyone, you’re the most likely to… make sure he’s safe.”

__

“...but what about when he gets back?” Neil’s face turned serious. The most serious it had been in a while. “I don’t want him staying in that house. I don’t want those assholes to be anywhere near him. What do we do about that?”

__

Preston crossed his arms. “We can’t exactly report it. This many hospital records, that many investigations… reporting it would really do nothing.”

__

“What if we tell Ered?” Nikki suggested. “Her dads are FBI agents. They… they’d be able to do something, right?”

__

“There’s already been tons of investigations.” Preston argued. “I doubt another one would do anything different.”

__

“It’s worth a try, isn’t it?” Nikki argued back. “It’s better than sitting around and doing nothing!” 

__

“What if…” Neil said, stopping a possible argument. “What if we hear it from Max himself?” The other two stared at him. “We could convince him to tell us what’s going on at home and what happened over the past three years. If he tells us, we could help him get away. There would be physical evidence, wouldn’t there?”

__

“Where would he go, though?” Preston questioned. “Does he have family around here?”

__

“I don’t know.” Lowenthal said, truthfully. “But I don’t care as long as he’s safe. Even if I… if we never see him again, I’ll be happy knowing he’s away from those abusive shitheads.”

__

The other two agreed. “As long as he’s safe.” The teal-haired girl echoed.

__

“How’re we going to start? I get the feeling Max doesn’t like opening up and being vulnerable.” Goodplay glanced at the closed file.

__

“You’re right about that.” The nerd sighed. He wished he wasn’t. It’d make it so much easier to help him. 

__

The three started to discuss a plan. “The best thing I can think of is either cornering him into telling us or to coax him into it. Cornering him would be quick, but coaxing him would take a while.” 

__

Nikki tapped her fingers on the desk. “Cornering him has a higher chance of him blocking us out, doesn’t it?” 

__

“It does.” Neil mumbled. “But it’s quicker. All I really care about is his safety.”

__

“Of course.”

__

* * *

__

**(11:59 PM)**

__

The family of four were on the couch, watching the numbers on the countdown. Nikki was trying to be optimistic, but it was difficult. Neil wasn’t even trying. 

__

He was blind. He had been shot. Neil couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

__

_‘Why didn’t you just say something?’_ The missing out on phone calls, skipping video calls, and refusing to meet up in real life made so much more sense to the teen now. 

__

Max didn’t want anyone to think anything was wrong. He _still_ didn’t want anyone to think anything was wrong. 

__

But instead that resulted in over half the group thinking he was an insincere asshole who faked everything about being friends. 

__

The brunet was so lost in thought, he ended up being startled when the other three people in the room shouted “happy new year”. Without wasting a minute, Candy grabbed Carl by the sleeve and the two went upstairs. 

__

“Aaannnd there they go.” Nikki huffed. “Wanna go out to the backyard?”

__

Neil shook his head. “Front yard.”

__

“Oh.” The girl stood. “Alright.”

__

The siblings hurriedly went outside, not wanting to hear the... _noises_. Nikki sat on the porch stairs. “So… Max.”

__

“Yeah.” Neil sat next to her.

__

“What’re we gonna do? I don’t want him to leave but I don’t want him to stay.”

__

Neil listened to the crickets. “Yeah.” Was all he said.

__

**Wed, Jan 1, 2020 (12:01 AM)**

__

**Max <3: happy new year**

__

**Happy new year, Max.**

__

* * *

__

**January 6th, 2020 (7:11 AM)**

__

“Holy shit, you actually wore it.” Max smiled upon seeing Neil in the green hoodie. 

__

Neil tried to smile back, but it proved difficult when he remembered Max was blind in his left eye. “I haven’t been caught so far.” It was the first time seeing him since finding out about the eye. He was relieved that the boy seemed normal. 

__

“Well, it is the beginning of the school day.”

__

“I passed, like, five teachers. No one said anything.”

__

“Maybe they don’t know what LSD looks like.” Max piped. “Or they just don’t give a shit.”

__

Neil sat across from Max. “I’m gonna guess the latter.”

__

“Yeah, probably.”

__

* * *

__

**(11:00 AM)**

__

As soon as Neil entered the classroom, David looked shocked. He was looking at the hoodie, possibly recognizing what was on it.

__

“What, camp man?” Max snarked, seeing David staring.

__

David didn’t respond, only shook his head and turned to the board.

__

“Guess he knows what LSD looks like.”

__

“Guess so.” 

__

As the two sat, Nikki suddenly flung herself into the seat in front of Max. “Hey, Max, ever wanted to be a pirate?”

__

Neil shot her a “seriously” look. The three of them (Neil, Nikki, and Preston) had agreed to subtly try to inquire about Max’s current state. Neil and Nikki more so than Preston.

__

“Uh…” The corner of Max’s lips did a double twitch. “Sort of? When I was younger I just wanted the excuse of having a bird on my shoulder.” 

__

“Like a parrot?” 

__

“Yeah. I wanted to teach it to say ‘fuck’ and to scream at people who bothered me.” The black-haired teen pulled a textbook out. “Or bark at the dogs that went by. I just wanted to fuck with people.”

__

“Parrots can bark?”

__

“If you teach it to, yeah.”

__

The girl’s eyes glittered. “I want a parrot.”

__

“Ask Candy and Dad.” Neil sighed. _‘Though they’ll most likely say no.’_

__

* * *

__

**January 7th, 2020 (3:47 PM)**

__

**Ikk: Max didnt let me do his hair**

__

**Ikk: :(((**

__

**He doesn’t like people messing with his hair.**

__

**Ikk: But he lets u mess with it!1!!!1!1!!!! not fair!1!!1**

__

**He doesn’t like people messing with his bangs, then.**

__

**Ikk: :(((((((((((((**

__

**Ikk: I just wanna see his eye**

__

**That’s probably why he doesn’t want you to do his hair.**

__

**Ikk: I can try to get him try on ereds clothes**

__

**Ikk: More revealing stuff**

__

**Don’t word it like that.**

__

**Ikk: ???okay**

__

Neil haphazardly dropped his phone next to him on his bed. Nikki had taken Max to Ered’s house, wanting to try her luck after seeing Max wearing a crop top with a tank underneath it in his story (knowing Ered had a shit ton of clothes she didn’t wear anymore that were somewhat similar to Max’s style). Neil had seen the story too, and… well… something Neil didn’t realize was how Max had grown into a little bit more of a… feminine body type with a slightly slimmer waist and wider hips. He didn’t notice until Nikki pointed it out. 

__

...he hated being a teenager with hormones.

__

That’s why he stayed home instead of going with his sister. 

__

Neil looked over to his desk. Preston had allowed him to take the file with him, but Neil hadn’t been able to bring himself to look at it. 

__

But…

__

Knowing he had nothing better to do, Lowenthal braced himself for what other contents could possibly be in the beige folder. He dragged himself away from the comfort of his bed and hesitantly situated himself at the desk. 

__

His room was dark since the curtains were closed and the teen didn’t feel like getting back up… oh. Neil’s blue orbs landed on the cord to the christmas lights. He reached for it, then plugged it into the outlet. The lights came on, filling the room with a rainbow. 

__

In a strange way, it felt like the lights were both comforting and mocking him at the same time. _‘Don’t get distracted.’_ He reprimanded himself.

__

With shaky hands, he slowly lifted the cover. The papers were familiar. He’d seen the format multiple times now. His eyes glazed over the first page, noting that it was just what Preston had read the week before. Even though he already knew about it, reading it still made him sick to his stomach.

__

There’s no possible excuse for it. This shit doesn’t just _happen_. It made Neil angry. 

__

So angry.

__

After shuffling through the papers, Neil noticed something new. 

__

_Bruise on left side of the face._

__

Well, it wasn’t _new_ , but it was new. 

__

...if that made sense.

__

Disregarding his trivial thoughts, the brunet shuffled through more papers. There were a lot more than any other file he’d looked at before. It made Neil even more unnerved than he already was.

__

Eventually, he found papers that looked different. He took the new-looking sheets out and pushed the file aside. 

__

The first one was detailing what had happened to his eye. 

__

_Large shard of glass wedged in left eye; left blind_.

__

Neil didn’t want to read more. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to imagine Max in pain. 

__

But he had to do this. If he wanted to help Max…

__

The boy sucked in a breath and continued.

__

_Shard most likely from a beer bottle. Smaller pieces found under the eye._

__

All the glass (except the ones in his thighs) had been from a beer bottle… were Max’s parents drunk when this all happened? Neil knew how scary some adults could be when drunk… how terrifying were Max’s?

__

The rest of the sheet just repeated the same information like name, age, weight, etc. It did mention how the eye wasn’t too bad, so Max at least still had it. 

__

An investigation had indeed taken place, but a lot of it was either obscured or just not mentioned whatsoever. It made Neil frustrated. 

__

He flipped to the next paper. It was about the gunshot. The bullet wasn’t identified, but it wasn’t too dangerous. It was reported that there had been two shots, but only one hit Max. The other one had apparently shattered a window, which may have explained the glass pieces in Max’s thighs. 

__

“How did they get away with the gun?” Neil ran a hand through his hair. He was utterly confused. Unlike other reports, there were no excuses or reasons listed. This was the most bleak out of the tens of others he’d seen. How the _fuck_ did those bastards get away with this shit?

__

Everything was so brief and unexplained. There was barely anything said about the cuts on his head other than that it was a beer bottle (which Neil already knew) and that there were a numerous number of them. The glass in his legs was just stated as causing Max to have trouble walking for a while. That was it. Neil hated it. 

__

Opening the folder back up, the brunet spotted another unfamiliar paper. A lot of it had been damaged somehow, but there were a few things that stuck out. Once again, Max’s name was visible. However, his address and family relations were blacked out. No matter what way Neil looked at it, the text was illegible. One of the only things that was readable was that Max had spent around two weeks in the hospital for this. 

__

That was the longest he’d ever stayed. 

__

Slightly puzzled, Neil looked back to the other papers and quickly flipped through it. He found a sheet at the very end of it, one that neither him nor Preston had seen. It was kind of like a log in some way; one that very clearly wasn’t professional. The handwriting seemed familiar but Neil couldn’t quite place where he’d seen it. The log took place over the span of about two weeks and had boxes with indigo dots in them underneath a numbered day. Neil didn’t know what this at all meant, but he chalked it up to it being related to Max having to stay in the hospital for that longer period of time. 

__

Cycling through everything again, he deduced that he’d seen pretty much everything. 

__

He didn’t know what he was feeling, if he was being honest. Neil leaned back in his rolling chair, letting the chair drift away from the wooden desk. Before his mind could wander, his phone started blowing up. Neil snatched his device and saw Nikki sending him a multitude of photos. 

__

**Ikk: So we couldnt get him to wear anything revealing but we did get this :))**

__

Neil scrolled up, seeing photos of Max (Nikki and Ered were in some) in different outfits. How the girls managed to convince him to wear a skirt, Neil didn’t know.

__

What he _did_ know, however, was that his bisexual heart was about to explode.

__

* * *

__

**January 8th, 2020 (5:32 PM)**

__

“This one, _now_.” Nikki thrusted a pastel pink sweater at Max. 

__

Max took it without a word and whisked himself away to a changing room. The trio were at the mall, another one of Nikki’s ideas. She was trying to see how much skin Max would be willing to show; if she could see something and call it out. Neil thought the idea was stupid, but it wasn’t like Neil had any better ideas. 

__

“He’s just gonna put it over his shirt, you know that right?” Neil whispered.

__

“It’s worth trying,” Nikki fired back, “you have any better ideas?”

__

Neil didn’t say anything and kept his eyes forward.

__

“Yeah, thought so.”

__

Max emerged, not a bit of extra skin peeking out from behind the fabric. 

__

“Why do you pull off loose clothes so well?” The adventurer whined. She threw a white crop top at him and pushed him back into the stall.

__

The scientist stifled a laugh. When Max was in light-colored sweaters, it honestly looked like he had the complete opposite personality than he actually had. He looked like an angel in Neil’s eyes. 

__

(Though, was it hard for Max to look absolutely fucking _gorgeous_ to Neil? No. The answer was no.)

__

* * *

__

**(8:21 PM)**

__

“No!” Max pulled Neil in front of him. “Fuck off!”

__

_“_ Maaxx!!” Nikki giggled, stretching a red scrunchie between her right index and thumb. “Let me do your hair!” She ran around her brother, attempting to reach Max. 

“No!” Max shouted again, this time hopping on top of Neil’s bed. “Fucking stop her!”

Neil only laughed. “No.”

Nikki hopped on the bed alongside Max, who swiftly dodged the girl’s attempt to grab him. He was good at evading her, which Neil noticed. It alarmed him a bit, but he refused to let it show on his face. He’d discuss it with Nikki after Max left. 

At the speed of light, Max sped out of the room and locked himself in the bathroom. 

“You’re gonna have to come out at some point!” Nikki banged on the door, a large smile still on her face. 

“No I don’t!” Max yelled back. “There’s a window in here!”

Neil leaned against the wall next to the door. “We’re on the second floor, Max.”

“So?” The siblings heard a little bit of rustling and a window opening. “That’s not gonna stop me. See y’all tomorrow!” The lock clicked again and Nikki rushed in.

“Holy shit.” Neil muttered. The window was open and Max was gone. They looked out and saw the boy scaling over multiple fences.

“Wow.” Nikki simply said. “He _really_ doesn’t want us to see that eye.”

“No… he really doesn’t.” Neil backed away from the window. “He was avoiding you really well.”

“Yeah, I noticed. Probably got good at it from dodging his parents.” She put her hands to her hips. “This isn’t easy.”

“Who said it was _going_ to be easy?”

Nikki sighed. “I did. Internally.”

“Then you lied to yourself.”

“I know.”

* * *

**January 9th, 2020 (11:49 PM)**

David surprised the teens by having a gym day. 

Originally, no one was happy about it, but then they found out that it was just going to be a free day since the semester was coming to an end. That meant no longer being in David’s class and also having to split up. It was nice to be in a class with all ten of them. 

Felt a little more… at home.

The trio discussed what possible classes they could have with each other. All three of them could get Science together, Max and Nikki could get Math together, Max and Neil could get English together, and Neil and Nikki could get Drama together. They were crossing their fingers for at least Science. 

Max and Nikki dreamed about all the wacky shit they would be able to get up to. Neil just wanted a class with Max.

“Oh shit!” Max yelped. “It’s fuckin’ snowing!” Neil and Nikki (and a few other kids from the other class) gathered around the exit doors. A few specks of white had started falling.

“You think we’ll be let out early?” Maxwell excitedly stared.

“If the snow gets heavier, yeah.” Neil squinted at the fog forming.

Jones huffed. “I hope so. I have a French test to do and I’m going to fail it.”

Nikki turned, bewildered. “You still have tests?”

“It’s the last one.” Max hummed.

Neil cocked his head. “What’s the point of having another test? It’s the end of the semester.”

“Ask Mr. Sagulo. He’s hellbent on having one final one.” Max started walking away from the door. He flopped onto the green bleachers and propped his leg up. The siblings followed, Neil sitting where Max’s leg was pointing and Nikki on the opposite side.

The three began talking about what they were hoping the new semester was going to be like. Nikki said she heard that it was supposed to be more fun and exciting. Max just wanted teachers who weren’t either a dumbass or just completely rude. Neil wanted both. 

Amidst the discussion, Neil looked down briefly, then had to do a double take. Max’s ankle was exposed and the skin was darker than it should’ve been, almost purple. It was a bruise. Right there. On his ankle. In plain- maybe not _plain_ \- sight. 

Max caught him staring. “What?” He followed his gaze. “Oh, this?” He pulled his pant leg up, Nikki now seeing it. Her expression did a complete one-eighty. “I hit my leg on a fence when I left your house yesterday.” He seemed casual about it. 

But the bruise looked too dark to have just been from hitting it on a fence and there were too many of them.

...come to think of it, Max had said he was busy the night before, therefore not able to text. What happened in that time?

From what Max had lifted up, Neil could also see a few thin cuts on his shin. 

Neil didn’t like it at all. He wanted Max out of that house as soon as possible. 

Well, it was time to start scheming.

* * *

**(9:01 PM)**

_‘That’s it.’_ Ever since he’d seen the ring of bruises around Max’s ankle, Neil had been brainstorming ideas on how to get Max to open up. 

He knew he wanted to get Max alone with him since Preston and Nikki had argued that Neil was closest to the Indian, making him the most likely to help. 

The problem was how and where.

He didn’t want to do it in public- that would be awkward for both of them and neither of them liked crowds. He wanted Max to be comfortable enough to open up, though Neil was willing to bypass that if needed to. 

And how would he bring it up? He couldn’t go: “hey, I know your parents are abusive and I want to help”. That wouldn’t work in a million years- a billion, even. But that was the only way he could come up with. 

He’d been thinking and thinking for hours and even asked Preston and Nikki for their input. Nikki keyed Ered in, too, asking what she’d do in that situation. Ered said to quiz him in some way, as that’s what she always did to Nikki when there was something bothering the teal-haired girl. Nikki said to do it in the woods over by the school. It was a secluded area since no one really wanted to go by the ‘death hole’.

Neil had thanked them, but it wasn’t a complete plan. He couldn’t half-ass this. He had to be prepared.

 _‘Get him alone, get him to the woods, quiz him…’_ An idea popped into his head. 

_‘....that’ll work.’_

* * *

**January 10th, 2020 (6:57 PM)**

“Why’re we here?” Max inquired, picking a dead leaf off a tree. 

Neil only shrugged. He wasn’t really trying to act like everything was okay. He had a destination he wanted to get Max to, and goddammit he was going to get him there.

“...are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Max frowned and looked to the ground.

The two continued on the path. There was an opening in the center of a circle of trees somewhere. Neil intended to get there. 

Everything about the walk was weird. They weren’t talking (something they couldn’t stop even if they wanted to whenever they were around each other) and there was a tense presence in the air. 

Somehow, someway, they were where Neil wanted them to be. He suddenly stopped, causing Max to slam into him. “Fuck-!”

Neil spun around, his hand instinctively reaching out. “Sorry!” He said on impulse.

Max took the hand and lifted himself up, but then roughly pulled his arm back. “Okay, what the fuck are we doing here? What’s up with you? You’re acting weird. You’ve _been_ acting weird all week. Nikki too. What the hell's going on?”

 _‘So he noticed.’_ Max always was observant. 

Neil took both of Max’s hands and led him to the middle of the clearing. He looked at where Max’s eyes should’ve been. “I want to do a little experiment and I want you to do something.”

“...what?” Max sounded cautious.

Neil let go of Max’s right hand and grabbed his left with both of his own. One on the wrist, one on the palm. “I want you to cover your left eye and tell me how many fingers I hold up.”

“I-” Max tensed. “W-What? That’s fuckin’ stupid. Why would you possibly need me to do something as simple as that?”

“Just do it.” Neil’s voice was emotionless. “Please.” He let go. 

The Indian looked down at his hand for a moment, then tentatively rose it to his left eye. 

Neil held up one finger. “How many?”

“One.”

“Cover the other one.”

Max tensed even more. Nonetheless, he did it anyway. 

Neil’s arms remained at his side. “How many?”

“...three.”

Lowethal’s lips tightened. “Wrong. Uncover them.”

Max let his hand fall to his side, it curled into his fist. 

“...I know, Max.” Neil gloomily spoke. “I know what happened to you. About the hospital.”

Just as Neil predicted, Max tried to take off. He swiftly grabbed the younger male’s wrist, making sure his grip was tight enough. “Shit-!” Max hissed, his body forced itself to turn around and face Neil.

“Max, we want to help.” Neil shakily said. “Please, just tell me everything.” His other hand grabbed Max’s hoodie. 

Max didn’t say anything, he just kept trying to tear himself away. 

“If you just tell me, we can help you get away from those people! We want you to be safe!”

“I’m not- already- I-” 

“Max, please-”

“Is this why you’ve been acting so fucking strange all week?” Max yelled. He was in his defense mode. “Because you found out?” 

Neil nodded, his grip unwavering. “We just want to help! If you just let us-!” _‘Be persistent.’_

“Why do you fucking care!?”

“Why wouldn’t I care!?” Neil shot back. _‘Stay calm.’_

Max spluttered. “You just- you _shouldn’t_! No one ever should!”

“Preston cares! Ered cares! Nikki cares! I care!” _‘Please understand.’_

“ _Why_ though!?”

“I’m your friend!” _‘Listen, please.’_

“But-” He paused. “If- if they’re my friends- and they care, why didn’t they do anything that you did!? Why aren’t they here with you!?”

“B-Because-” Neil somehow tightened his grip. “Because it’s different.” _‘He’s not getting it.’_

“How is it different!? How could it possibly be different with you!?”

_‘...fuck it.’_ “Because I fucking like you!”

It was out. He’s never felt so relieved yet so terrified in his life.

Max briefly stopped struggling, but then resumed. “Of course you fucking do, you’re my fucking friend.” His voice was notably softer than it was before. 

“No,” Neil sighed, “No, not like that, Max.”

Max didn’t respond, so Neil just started talking. “After you disappeared, I spent night after night trying to figure out just where the hell you went. I… I thought it was because you were my best friend, but... that wasn’t it.” He shook his head. “Look, what I’m trying to say, is… is I- _I love you_ and no matter what fucking happens after this, I am _not_ going to let you stay in that house with those whores who’re called your parents. I don’t care if I never see you again. Your safety is all that fucking matters to me. _You’re_ all that matters to me.”

The black-haired slowly stopped fighting Neil’s grip. He was still silent, and that terrified Neil to no end. Max pulled one more time, seeing how Neil wasn’t going to let go.

“Max…?” The brunet quietly called out. “Max, please answer m-!”

The feeling was gone just as soon as it came. 

Something black had rushed at his face.

Something warm had pressed itself against his lips.

Everything seemed to stop.

_“Max?” Neil rubbed at his eyes. “What’re you doing?” He looked up, seeing Max sitting at the end of the dock._

_“Thinking.” Max replied, not turning to face him._

_“About what?” Neil yawned and sat next to him._

_The shorter kid shrugged and traced the water with his toe. “Stuff.”_

_“Like…?”_

_Max shrugged again. “Stuff.” He said again._

_Neil frowned. “You gotta be more specific.”_

_“I don’t wanna be.”_

_“...is it about what Nurf said earlier?”_

_“No.”_

_“The play Preston put on?”_

_“No.”_

_"Uh… what about the fireworks we set off last night?”_

_“No.”_

_The brunet tapped his fingers on his thighs. “...is it about the end of summer?”_

_Max sighed. “...yes.”_

_Neil looked at his hands. “...Like I said back at that dumb Camp Corp. building, even if we never see each other again, we’ll always be friends.” He knew that was what Max was worried about. It wasn’t the place, it was the people._

_Max actually smiled. “I’d like to think that.”_

_“You better think it, ‘cause it’s true.” The scientist threw an arm around the other kid’s shoulders. “One day, in the future, me, you, and Nikki will all meet up again and take over the city!”_

_Max leaned into Neil, a small laugh leaving him. “We’ll be free to do whatever.”_

_“Free food, free housing...” Neil found himself leaning into Max as well._

_“Are those your priorities?”_

__

_“Yeah, what’s yours?”_

__

_“Well, I want a whole section dedicated to just blowing it up.”_

__

_“Always about destruction, huh?”_

__

_“Mhm. I want food fights everyday. Build those cannons Nikki wants and fire them off the Camp Corp. building.”_

__

_“Free food for the homeless.”_

__

_“Pretty sure Nikki was aiming for ‘free food for the animals’.” Max yawned. “...hey, I…” Before he could get his thoughts out, his eyes closed and the boy fell asleep._

__

_Neil smiled fondly and looked out onto the lake. He wondered how Jasper was holding up after the island was set ablaze… maybe it was better to not think about it. After admiring the night sky for a while, Neil lifted himself and Max off the dock and carried him into their shared tent. He attempted to set Max down on his own cot, but the boy held onto Neil. Defeated, Neil returned to his own cot, Max in tow._

__

_...he wouldn’t lie, he was scared too- about the end of the summer._

__

_But... he’d cherish it as long as he had this._

____

Neil blinked, bringing himself back to reality. He glanced around, eyes frantically searching for someone in red, but… 

____

Max was gone. 

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Max said: _**gimme kith**_  
>  How much do y'all hate me for cliffhanging? ヅ  
> is this cliffhanging?  
> How gay will the next chapter get? I dunno,,,,  
> This feels anti-climatic.  
> [Edit: read a comment that said "after max punches neil" or something along those lines, just wanted to clarify that max actually kissed neil. sorry for not making it clear :,) might rewrite that part to make it more clear]


	11. Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Please answer me.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hit the biggest writer's block ever, so the beginning of this chapter is not the best hjkjk,,,  
> 

**Fri, Jan 10, 7:01 PM**

**Please answer me.**

That was what, his thirteenth text since he’d gotten home? He called Max five times. There was nothing indicating that Max had even seen the messages. 

“What happened?” Nikki asked for the third time since Neil had gotten back. They were in Neil’s room, Nikki in the rolling chair and Neil on the bed.

Prying his eyes from his phone, he set it face down and finally answered his sister. “He ran off.”

“He ran off?” Nikki echoed. “What’d you do??”

“Told him I wanted to do an experiment. I told him we knew and… he just ran away.”

“You didn’t stop him??”

Neil cast his gaze to his hands. “I tried.”

Maxwell’s eyebrows knitted together as she pulled her own device out. “For god’s sake… he hasn’t responded to me, either.” 

Unless he was asleep, Max was always quick to respond and Neil knew for a goddamn _fact_ that he was not asleep at seven. All the nights he stayed up texting him was proof of that.

“God fucking dammit.” Neil ran his hands over his eyes as he moved off his bed. He was trying to convince himself that Max was just ignoring them. Nothing bad was currently happening to him, no way. 

_‘Just fucking answer.’_ Neil was growing more and more anxious by the second. 

“He can’t ignore us forever.” Nikki stated.

“Yes, he can.” Lowenthal frustratingly sighed. “He’s done it before, and he can do it again.” There was one time at camp when the trio got into a heated argument and didn’t make up until a week later. Max didn’t even attempt to reconcile… with Nikki at least. He and Neil talked a little bit at night, but neither said ‘sorry’. Came close to it, though. Neil and Nikki only apologized when they- and David and Gwen, became concerned about Max’s health (at the time, Neil doubted the boy was sleeping).

“No, he can’t.” Nikki’s voice was firm. “We’ll see him at school. He doesn’t eat lunch but he’s bound to be somewhere if he’s not on the roof.”

“He’ll hide and wait for the bell.” 

Maxwell opened her mouth to respond, but Neil didn’t let her speak.

“As you said that one night, he probably got good at avoiding people from his parents.”

“And?”

“ _He’s good at avoiding_ , Nikki. And with the new semester coming up on Wednesday, there’s a chance we won’t even be in the same class anymore. We might not see him in the hallways, the cafeteria- _anywhere_ on school grounds. He-” Neil took a breath. “He could be _dead_ and we wouldn’t know-!”

“Don’t say that!” Nikki suddenly shouted. She quickly lowered her voice, not wanting to draw Candy or Carl’s attention. “Don’t… don’t say he’s dead.” Tears appeared in the corner of her eyes. “I-I… there’s no way he’s dead. No way.”

Neil frowned. He wished he could believe that- he really did. But he couldn’t rule out the possibility if they weren’t able to physically see or interact with Max. “He could though-”

“Why are you like this now?!”

“What??”

“When Max disappeared back after camp ended, the idea of him dying _never_ crossed your mind! So why are you so dead-set on saying he is now??!” She was in his face.

The brunet took a step back. “Because I didn’t know about his parents! I didn’t know he was being abused! And I never said he _is_ dead, I’m saying it’s a possibility in the future if we don’t _fucking_ do something to find him! We can’t waste time. Anything could happen just like _that_ ,” He snapped his fingers. 

Nikki shook her head, trying to calm herself down. “I,” She huffed, “ _Fine_ , okay, what… what do we do?” Her hands were curled into fists. She was still mad.

“Check his socials, they’ll tell you the last time he was active.”

The girl put a hand to her forehead. “He posts on his story daily.”

“So tomorrow, check his account. Keep checking. Message him, call him, fucking email him if you have to. Anything to make sure he’s still around.” He saw Nikki tense. 

“Don’t-”

“I’m not saying I want it to happen- because I don’t, but you have to keep your mind open to that possibility.” He grabbed both of Nikki’s hands. “Look, I don’t like the idea either, and I’m fairly certain it won’t happen, but we need to be prepared for every single possible outcome and that includes him… us losing him.” 

Nikki’s pink orbs briefly met Neil’s blue before her lips tightened and she aggressively pulled her hands back. “I… I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” She didn’t even wait for a response.

_‘She’s not mad at_ me _.’_ Neil reminded himself. With a shallow sigh, the scientist shot Max another text and trotted over to his window. He managed to sit on the windowsill just as Max had the tons of times he’d slept over. He stared out, noticing unmelted snow on the other side of the glass. 

...maybe he should’ve confronted Max some other way. 

Too late now.

Neil’s hand found its way to his lips, everything that happened in the woods coming back to him. 

_Max kissed him._

So there went his first kiss… he wished it was under different circumstances. 

At least it was with Max. 

Neil leaned his head back while pressing his face against the cold glass. He wasn’t able to really… _feel_ what the kiss felt like because it was so quick and unexpected. 

The whole situation caused Neil to have hundreds of questions, but for some reason only one stuck out: _Does Max like me?_

He kissed him after the brunet confessed. Why would he do that? Because he liked him back? He did run off afterwards though, so… did he just… _use_ him? God, Neil really hoped it was the former.

But right now, that couldn’t be his priority. He had to find Max and talk to him, that was what was important.

* * *

**January 11th, 2020 (12:41 PM)**

Neil slept in. 

Oops.

He rolled over, wanting to go back to sleep. He felt like shit. Staying up until three in the morning did not do wonders for Neil’s body. 

His eye cracked open, the shape of his phone slowly forming. Remembering about Max, the nerd’s arm shot out from underneath his blanket as he sat up. He honestly wasn’t expecting a reply from Max, but he could hope. Scrolling through his notifications, he felt dread slowly creep upon him. There were no texts or calls from Max. 

None at all.

Neil unlocked his phone and went to his messages. He tapped Max’s and looked down at the bottom right corner, just under his latest text. 

**_Delivered_ **

Max hadn’t even _seen_ it.

Lowenthal went over to his Instagram and flipped to his DM’s. 

**maximumedge**

_**Active 18h ago** _

Max hadn’t been on Instagram since Neil asked him to go to the woods with him. Neil ran a hand through his hair, his mind racing. On the weekends, Max would usually post something on his story by 11 AM when he wasn’t at the siblings’ house, but there was nothing today. He wasn’t even active.

“Fuck…” Neil tossed his phone across the mattress. He contemplated even getting out of bed. What was there to do? His weekends were typically spent with Nikki and Max and with Max ignoring them and Nikki stressed the fuck out, Neil had nothiing important or worth doing. All he could was either keep messaging Max or just sleep until Monday. He leaned towards the latter. 

_‘Like I even could.’_ Neil lied in bed for a few more minutes, reminiscing about what usually would’ve been happening on a Saturday morning. Neil would be up first, shortly followed by Max. Nikki would stay asleep while the boys faced one another and just talked, a little bit of teasing and playful platonic touching/poking added into the mix. They’d wait for Carl to come into the room and get them for breakfast. Once Max pushed Nikki off the bed in order to wake her up. Neil lightly chuckled as he played the memory in his head. 

He sighed, finally getting out of bed. His bare feet touched the carpet; it was warm from the sunlight shining through the crack in his curtain. Neil tiredly blinked as he sluggishly moved to his door, briefly wondering what Nikki was doing. As he exited, he saw that Nikki’s door was opened, meaning she was probably downstairs. He lumbered down the stairs, blankly walking to the kitchen. When he entered, he finally noticed how quiet the house was. Carl and Candy were gone for work- that was normal. They both left at around nine. 

But where was Nikki? 

Neil searched the house, even calling her name. It seemed he was the only one in the house. 

_‘Probably at Ered’s.’_ She never did tell him when she went. He should probably call her to get confirmation, but he didn’t feel like it. 

Everything felt confusing. Too much stress, maybe.

* * *

**(6:25 PM)**

Neil was sitting on the couch, eating some spaghetti he made and vacantly watching Netflix when the front door clicked open. He turned his head to see Nikki coming in, wearing Ered’s jacket.

“Where’ve you been?” Neil questioned.

“Trying to find Max.” Nikki hummed.

Neil turned his attention back to the TV. “Didn’t find him?”

The girl sighed. “Nope.” She eyed the spaghetti. “Any left?”

“Uh huh.” The brunet watched Nikki enter the kitchen. _‘Wonder why she has Ered’s jacket.’_

Nikki came back out, then flopped onto the couch next to Neil. “What’s this?” She hadn’t looked at the screen yet.

“ _She-Ra_.” 

“First time watching?”

“Hell no.” Neil took a forkful of noodles. 

Nikki giggled a little. “Which season?”

“Fourth. Been binging it.”

“Catra and Adora are gay for each other.”

“Oh, totally.” The two sat in silence for a while. “You’re wearing Ered’s jacket.” Neil said.

Nikki looked down at the zipped up jacket. “Oh, uh, yeah. She insisted since it was cold out and I didn’t have one.”

“Dumbass.” Neil snorted. “When are you gonna start wearing your own? You have, like, four.”

“In the back of my closet.”

“And? You don’t have a lot of clothes.”

“They’re not ready.”

“What?”

“They’re not ready to come out of the closet.”

Lowenthal’s lip quirked up. “Oh my fucking god.”

“We’re watching _She-Ra_ , you’re not escaping my gay jokes.”

“Your gay jokes are terrible.”

“Shush.”

* * *

**(9:08 PM)**

“Nothing.” Nikki threw her phone across the room, it (luckily) slamming into Neil’s pillow. She was frustrated. Max still wasn’t answering and still wasn’t active. His Instagram said he had been online a day ago. Neither sibling liked this. 

Neil sat in his rolling chair and rolled over to his computer. “Where did you go to look for him?” He logged in and went to Google Maps, then got a pen and paper out.

Nikki saw what he was doing and stood next to him. “I walked around here for a while. Pretty sure I swept through these streets,” She traced the streets as Neil quickly scribbled the names down. “I got to the school, but then it started getting dark and Ered was coming back from a late practice and she invited me over…” Her arm retracted from the screen. “I… may have… sorta, uh… told her a little bit about Max.”

Neil put his pen down. “Like what?”

“I told her he was blind… basically everything in that file Preston told us.”

“...how’d she take it?”

Nikki’s gaze was fixated on the darkest corner of Neil’s room. “She was… shocked, I think. I told her how Max started ignoring us so she texted him. No response. She asked the others if they’d heard from him at all…” She turned to Neil. “You were the last person to talk to him.” Her gaze drifted off again. “Harrison offered to help.” 

“He did?”

“Yeah. Something about how he feels like he owes him for helping with his anniversary.” Nikki visibly brightened. “Oh! Right, uh- Harrison did a magic thingy and it told him that Max _is_ at home!”

“And you trust that?”

Nikki replied without missing a beat. “I want to! Plus, Harrison’s magic has gotten better and more reliable over the years.” Her eyebrows knitted together. “It’s pretty dang obvious that magic exists and that it exists with Harrison. Can you just this _once_ look past your sciencey bullcrap? Can you do that for Max?”

Neil narrowed his eyes at his sister. “I… fuck- _fine_. But only if it’s actually helpful. We knew he was at home already. What Harrison did does nothing for us.”

“It confirmed that he was- and has been- at home.” She countered.

The brunet shook his head, then turned back to the screen. He typed “ _Wendy’s_ ” into the search bar, then clicked on one that was close to the school. “Doesn’t he live near a _Wendy’s_?”

The girl’s face went blank for a second, then she crumbled. “Crap, you’re right.” Nikki slapped herself on the forehead. “I forgot about that… I wasted today…”

“It’s the thought that counts.”

“Not in this case.” 

Neil knew she was right, so he didn’t bother to argue. “We can walk around there tomorrow. Start early in the morning and come back when it gets too dark.”

Nikki sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s do that.”

* * *

**January 12th, 2020 (8:02 AM)**

“I can’t believe you actually got up this early.” Nikki tried to return Ered’s jacket to her, but the taller girl refused.

“It’s cold and you’re wearing a tank.” Ered yawned. “And I never went to sleep in the first place.” If Neil looked close enough, he could see small bags forming.

Neil turned away from the girls, opting to stare down the street. He, Nikki, Harrison, Preston, and Ered were gathered in front of one of the _Wendy’s_. Everyone was told to bring a fully charged phone and a portable charger if they had one. Each person was going to be covering different streets. 

Neil had informed everyone on what he knew of Max’s home. It was two stories, his room was visible from the front of the house and he had white curtains and dark baby blue wallpaper, and his mother drove a grey (unsure of the exact brand) sedan.

Harrison walked up behind the nerd, clearing his throat and gaining everyone’s attention. “What do we do if we think we found his house?”

“Call or text me.” Neil said without thought.

“Just you?”

Neil paused for a second. “...yeah, just me.” _‘I want to deal with Max alone.’_

“Why just you?” Nikki questioned.

Neil shrugged. “Just do it.” He began to walk off. “I don’t want to waste time. Let’s go.” He, Ered, and Nikki were taking the west side (there was more ground to cover) while Preston and Harrison took the east.

“You think we’ll find him?” Nikki quietly asked.

Neil didn’t bat an eye. “I hope so.” He really did. Either that or Max would finally text or call them.

The three parted ways, Neil taking the streets closest to the _Wendy’s_. He walked quickly, his eyes rapidly flipping through the houses. If it wasn’t two stories, Neil paid it no attention. 

In an hour, he’d swept through a fourth of what he assigned himself. None of them seemed to be Max’s home. 

He wished he asked for his address. He really did. 

The others weren’t having any luck, either. Preston had knocked on a couple doors and asked if they’d seen Max. Nobody said they knew anyone with the description the theatre boy had given them. Harrison was more so trying to try out another trick- one to correctly locate the MIA teen while using another spell to detect Jones’ presence. Ered’s neighborhood was chock-full of one-story buildings and the few two-story ones were very clearly not Max’s. Nikki had befriended some squirrels and asked them to look inside of the houses. Once again, nothing.

Neil was beginning to think that maybe they were searching the wrong area. There was another _Wendy’s_ just outside of the city lines almost two miles away… he could live down there instead.

...but there were still houses here to investigate and they simply didn’t have enough time in the day to look at both.

The brunet looked back to his messages. Max still hadn’t read them. He heaved a heavy sigh and continued down the street, eyeing a two story blue building. There was a black SUV in the open garage. Peering into the garage, there was an older white man tinkering with something. 

Not Max’s.

The house next to the blue one was white. Outside on the front lawn was a family. There were three kids- probably around the age of nine- running around with water guns. _‘It’s nine in the morning and it’s winter??’_ Neil judged the young kids. Though the sight reminded him of the day they’d gotten the camp and all the kids had a water fight. 

Good times.

...times the nerd wished he could go back to.

When everything was just… easier.

He shook his head, moving on. He passed a few more one-stories and a couple more two-stories with people who couldn’t have been related to Max sitting on the porch. 

**Sun, Jan 11, 9:41 AM**

**Harrison: Nothing**

**Preston: Nothing over here either**

**Ikk: Nope**

**Ered: nothing**

**Nothing.**

* * *

**(5:21 PM)**

“My mom wants me back home.” Preston absently mumbled, his phone screen dimmed. 

Harrison looked at his own device. “I probably have to go too... Mick’s been blowing up my phone about some magic trick he wants me to try and my parent’s will-” His phone buzzed. “Ah. Yeah, I gotta go.” He glanced up at Neil. “I’m sorry we couldn’t find Max, but… hopefully he’ll be at school tomorrow.” He hesitantly started in the direction of his home.

Preston looked back to the magician, then to the siblings. “I really wish we found him… I’ll text and call him again when I get home, okay? See you guys tomorrow.” The teen ran to catch up with Harrison.

“What if we just missed it?” Nikki asked, her pink eyes gazed at the buildings along the street. “For all we know he could be in… _that_ house.” She pointed at a house painted pastel red.

“If we did miss it, it’s not like we could keep searching.” Neil hummed. “We can’t be out here later than six.” He reminded his stepsister. Candy and Carl were going to be getting home soon.

“But…” Nikki’s lips tightened. 

“I want to keep looking too, I really do,” Neil said, “but we’ll get grounded if we don’t start heading home and that means no phones. No way of contacting Max outside of school.”

The adventurer groaned. “I hate that you’re right…” She started to take Ered’s jacket off. She handed it to the skater without giving her time to protest. Nikki mumbled something and Miller put her hand on her shoulder, a reassuring look on her face.

Neil looked away, his blue eyes piercing his phone at his latest message. 

**Sun, Jan 12, 5:29 PM**

 **I know you probably haven’t seen these, but I wanted to let you know that we’re not mad. The others have likely said this, and it is true, we’re worried. We just want to know if you’re okay. We need to know if you’re okay.**

Neil blinked, his vision turning blurry. He shakily typed another sentence and sent it.

**We love you.**

**...**

**Read 🗸**

* * *

**(10:11 PM)**

There should be a hole in Neil’s phone by now. How long has he been staring at his screen? Max finally saw the messages- or at least knew that everyone was trying to contact him. 

Still hadn’t responded, though.

Neil didn’t really bother to text him again. Max had seen them, _that’s_ what mattered.

He hadn’t told Nikki about it, though. 

Oh well.

Neil heard the front door open and heels click on the tiled floor. He didn’t have to turn to know that Candy was home. 

“Hey, lovebug.” She tiredly said, hanging her dark blue peacoat on the coat rack next to the fridge. The ends of her loosely fishtailed hair was damp from the snow. Neil watched as she pulled her hand away from the coat, his eyes locking onto what looked like a light bruise around her wrist. 

Candy caught him staring.

“Mama just got into a bit of a scuffle.” Her nails clicked as she pulled the yellow sleeve of her loose knit sweater down. “People get mad when they don’t get what they want.” She sighed, then turned to her unofficial stepson. “Anywho, how was your day?” The woman kicked her heels off and moved over to the dining table, lifting the lid off of a container of strawberries.

Neil’s gaze lingered on Candy’s wrist for another moment, the bruise on Max’s ankle flashing through his mind. He cleared his throat. “F-Fine.”

“That’s good.” Candy bit half of the red fruit. “My day was... boring, as usual.”

The nerd didn’t respond. His eyes traveled back to the woman’s wrist.

Silence fell between them. Neil’s eyes never left.

Dejected, Candy sighed again and allowed a small smile to etch onto her face. “Some men just got a little crazy.” Seeing Neil’s doubtful- almost pleading- face, she frowned. “They tried to ‘buy’ me. Refused and things... escalated.”

“...are you okay?”

Candy blinked. “Yeah. I’m getting used to it.”

“You’re just _now_ getting used to it?” Neil hadn’t meant to say that. “I-”

“No, no, I understand.” Candy reassured. “It’s not that I’m getting used to being solicited, I’m getting used to rejecting it and the different reactions it brings.”

_‘Oh.’_

The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. “Why are you rejecting them?”

Candy seemed both taken aback and not surprised. “You probably won’t believe me when I say this, I mean, frankly, _I_ didn’t believe myself when I realized, but I do love your father.” She bit another strawberry. “Or he’s grown on me, I dunno.” 

Neil had lived with Candy long enough to know that when it came to affection she acted very similarly to Max- they say something genuine then try to play it off.

The woman pushed the calyx into a discarded plastic water bottle. Her pink eyes flickered to Neil’s phone. It was still open to his contacts.

“Enough about my lovelife…” Candy’s pink lips quirked up into a smirk. “What about _yours_?” 

“Fu-” Neil stopped himself. 

“You act like I’ve never heard your conversations with your friends. Cuss, honey, I don’t care.”

The brunet let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “... _fuck_.”

Candy used her finger to turn the phone in her direction. She looked at it more thoroughly. “I didn’t know you and Max were a thing. Oh, Nikki must be such a cockblock-”

“UH- w-we are _not_ a thing!” Neil exclaimed, his face was beet red. “I just- he- um…”

“Neil has a crush, hm?” Candy grinned. 

The brunet held himself. “Y-yes.”

Candy’s yellow almond nails tapped against the table. “How long have you liked him?”

Neil fiddled with his fingers. “I… don’t know, weeks, months… probably years- uh, since I met him, maybe?”

The woman nodded. “Makes sense. When you came back from that camp, you never shut up about him.”

The teen’s face somehow got redder. 

“When are you gonna tell him?”

“I… already did.”

“Oh?” Candy’s eyebrows rose. “How’d it go?”

Neil shrugged. “I don’t know honestly. He… he kissed me,” he saw Candy smile, “but then he ran off.”

“Was this earlier today?”

“No,” The nerd answered honestly. “It happened Friday.”

“Have you talked about it?”

Neil directed his gaze elsewhere. “I tried. He hasn’t responded to anything. He won’t answer Nikki, either. I’m… worried.”

“Maybe he needs time to think about it.” The woman suggested. “Love is… complicated, to say the least. Some people jump into it without thinking, others take a step back to look it over- or it just happens. Max might be one of those who want to think about it instead.”

Neil considered it, but then remembered everything else. Max was never one to open up. He was probably ignoring all of them to avoid talking about his life. He hoped it was that, just as he hoped Max didn’t kiss him as a way of using him. 

...okay, he just really hoped Max liked him back. Was that too much to ask for?

“You…” Neil bit his lip, unsure if he should even ask. The answer was obvious, but he wanted complete confirmation. “You don’t care that I like… a boy?”

Candy laughed. “Neil, my daughter is a lesbian. Do you think I care about who you like?” She crossed her legs. “I’m just happy to hear you actually confessed. I’ve been waiting decades for my angel to say something to Ered. It’s honestly driving me crazy.”

Neil laughed a little with her. “I know. She talks about her all the time! Even Max is tired of her pining- and he’s only been here for five months!”

“Do you and Nikki ever talk about your crushes with each other?”

Neil shook his head. “In all honesty, you’re the first person to know… that I know of, anyway. No one’s brought it up with me so I think I’m not as obvious as Nikki.”

“Does Ered know Nikki likes her?”

“Not to my knowledge, no.”

“God, she’s the oblivious type, isn’t she?”

Neil reached for the strawberry container. “When it comes to Nikki, yeah.” 

Candy sighed. “And here I thought Nikki would be the first to confess her feelings to a crush.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just didn’t expect a kid like you to muster up the courage to tell someone how you feel.”

“I guess you don’t really know me then, huh?”

Candy was silent for a moment. “No.” She quietly said. “I really don’t.”

 _'Oh shit.’_ Neil frowned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

Candy held her hand up as a motion to get him to stop talking. “Don’t. I understand. I’m just glad I got to have this conversation with you. It’s… not often I get to talk with you.” She stood up. 

_‘Say something.’_ The brunet’s voice caught in his throat, his eyes watching the woman leave. It was sort of strange; just a few moments ago, they’d been having a good discussion. Now, Neil felt like an asshole towards his unofficial stepmother. 

“Wait,” Neil forced out. Candy paused in the doorway. “I… how...how did you know you loved my dad?”

The elder Maxwell turned. “It…well, it just happened. I know you think I got with him for his money- and you’re not wrong- but overtime I just…” She breathed in, then out. “The day Nikki came home with all those scratches from defending you at school. I saw Carl tending to her and… something in me just changed.” She walked back to Neil. “I saw that she cared about you. I saw that he cared about her. And I… realized. It was definitely weird at first. I didn’t know what I was experiencing: I hadn’t felt like that even towards Nikki’s father.” A soft laugh. “I didn’t know what family felt like. But…” Her gaze locked with Neil’s. “Now I do. And… I hope you feel that way too, one day.”

Her slim hands took hold of Neil’s. “I think… if you’re just there for him, he’d really like that. Love is weird.” Her fingers ran through the teen’s hair. “You’ll learn together.”

Neil smiled as Candy took her arms back. She smiled back at him then swiveled around to leave the room- likely to go take a shower. “Hey, uh…” Candy turned her head to look at him. “...thanks, Mom.” The woman’s eyes widened for a brief moment. Then, a warm- almost proud- smile painted her colored lips. 

“Love you.” A bit of hope in her voice. 

Neil’s voice almost refused to work. “Love you, too.” He managed to get out. 

Candy nodded and Neil noticed she had a bit more confidence in the way she walked. 

The brunet looked down to his phone, his fingers moving on their own. 

**Sun, Jan 12, 10:54 PM**

**< 3**

**…**

**Read 🗸**

**Max <3 liked a message!**

A small bubble with a red heart appeared next to his message. 

Neil couldn’t control the smile or blush that appeared on his face.

Not like he tried to.

* * *

**January 13th, 2020 (7:34 AM)**

Max wasn’t in the cafeteria. He wasn’t in the halls. Neil even popped his head into Max’s old first block, just to see if he was possibly there. 

He wasn’t there. 

**Mon, Jan 13, 7:35 AM**

**Are you at school?**

**…**

**Read 🗸**

**Max <3 disliked a message!**

A thumbs down bubble appeared. Neil took that as a no.

Why Max wasn’t normally texting him, Neil couldn’t really come up with a reason.

Except for one. 

He didn’t want it to be that, though.

_‘Please be safe.’_

Neil sighed, flipping his phone off and staring at the whiteboard ahead of him, trying to block out the other kids’ antics. He wasn’t in the mood for this.

It was the first day of the new semester and he could barely pay attention. 

English swept by in the blink of an eye and so did Art. When he entered Drama, he saw his sister sitting by her friend Liris. There were white name cards on the desks. His was in the back, complete opposite of Nikki. He wasn’t sure she had seen him. 

The class was mostly nothing. The teacher was absent so there wasn’t any formal introductions or anything. He sat quietly as the kids around him conversed. 

**Mon, Jan 13, 12:31 PM**

**Nikki and I have Drama together. I don’t think we got English together.**

**…**

**Read 🗸**

There wasn’t any other message though. 

Five minutes before class ended, Nikki had called his name out. Neil looked up at her. “Wait, you were here the whole time??!” 

He felt his social anxiety creep up on him as pairs of eyes turned to either look or glance at him. “Yeah, I have.” He mumbled. 

The girl whipped a paper out. “Do you have Science next?”

Neil nodded.

“What teacher?”

“Mr. Bak.”

The girl’s eyes sparkled. “We have the same class!”

“...yay?” Neil returned his attention to his phone.

**Mon, Jan 13, 1:21 PM**

**Nikki and I have also have Science together. I hope you do, too.**

**…**

**Read 🗸**

**Max <3 liked a message!**

A heart. _‘I think he hopes so, too.’_ Neil smiled. So Max didn’t want to stop being friends. At least, that’s what he gathered from these responses. 

The bell eventually rang and Neil was quick to exit. Nikki joined him shortly after, babbling about how Liris recently got a boyfriend. Neil half-listened to her. 

The first thing Neil noticed when he walked in was the large display of animal bones at the front. He could see a starfish and what looked like a deer skull. Nikki noticed it too, as she gasped loudly and marveled at the deceased animals. 

“Can I touch them?!” Nikki excitedly asked the man behind the desk. He seemed to be the teacher. 

“Yeah, go ahead. Just be careful.”

Neil moved past his sister and moved to the back of the room. He set his stuff down. Kids started to pile into the classroom and soon the tardy bell rang. Nikki bounded over to the table in front of Neil, although there was nobody sharing the table with him. Couldn’t say he complained though. Personal space.

Mr. Bak introduced himself along with the class. He engaged in light banter with a few students, and Neil could already tell that he was probably going to like the class. 

Then, the man started going through the attendance. 

“Winona Lovel?”

A girl with short red hair waved.

“Maximus Jones?”

Neil perked up. _‘So he is in this class.’_

Nikki turned around and glanced at Neil, worry in her expression but a small smile on her face. They had gotten a class together, like they wanted.

“Not here?” Mr. Bak looked around the room, then continued down the list. 

While the man got into another banter with a male student, Neil texted Max. 

**Mon, Jan 13, 1:48 PM**

**We’re all in Science!**

**…**

**Read 🗸**

**Max <3 liked a message!**

**Max <3 liked a message!**

**Max <3 liked a message!**

Two exclamation points, a heart, and a thumbs up appeared. 

**Are you happy about that?**

**Max <3 liked a message!**

Thumbs up. He was. 

Seeing as Mr. Bak wasn’t paying attention to him, Neil decided to try his luck. 

**Why are you just sending me reactions? Are you okay? Your parents haven’t hurt you, right?**

Max didn’t answer right away. For a moment, Neil thought Max was about to go MIA again, but then he saw three dots.

Max was _typing_.

**Max <3: i’m okay**

**Max <3: reactions are just easier i guess**

**Max <3: i’m happy we have the same class**

**Max <3: i’ll fucking flame u in science**

Neil smiled, eagerly typing away. 

**Like you could.**

**Max <3: i’ll cheat off u**

**That’s only if you actually come to school.**

**Max <3: i**

**Max <3: fair point**

**Speaking of that...**

**Why aren’t you here?**

**Why have you been ignoring us?**

Max didn’t respond to that.

**Can you tell me what’s been going on at home? Please? We want to get you out of that house.**

**Max <3: no**

**Max <3: you don’t have to**

**Max.**

**Max <3: it’s fine neil**

**Max <3: i’m fine**

**You’re not.**

**Max <3: i am.**

Neil wanted to press further, but the teacher stood and started handing out papers. He’d see his phone and Neil wasn’t quite sure what the phone policies of this class was. 

After Mr. Bak gave Neil a paper, Nikki suddenly sat beside him. “So!” She slammed her hands on the table. “I think the maggots come from the flies!”

Neil peered at the paper. It was about the Redi experiment. He knew this by heart. 

“You’re not wrong.” He sighed. 

Nikki cocked her head. “You alright?”

“Keep your voice down.” Neil warned. 

“I am?-”

“Max texted me.”

“HE WHA-” Neil slammed a hand over her mouth, his eyes narrow.

Nikki tore his hand off her. “He _what_?” She whispered. “What’d he say?”

Neil glanced up at where the teacher was. He was busy doing whatever on his computer. The brunet handed the girl his phone (after editing the contact and removing the heart), showing his messages. She read over them. She seemed focused. 

“He’s not fine.” Nikki stated, handing the device back.

“Ya think?” Neil responded, seeing that Max had not said anything else.

“Ask him where he lives.”

“He’s not going to tell me.”

Nikki huffed and pulled her own phone out, but before she could text Max, the teacher spoke up. 

“Lowenthal, Maxwell, are you done?”

They both got to work, Neil quickly finishing it up while Nikki rambled about whatever. 

“I wish he was more open.” The adventurer moped. “It’d make this ten times easier.” Her pencil clicked against the black laminate. “We might not even be dealing with this situation if he was!”

“How wouldn’t we?”

“If he was more open, he would’ve told us about his abusive parents back at camp! We could’ve done something then and all _this_ wouldn’t have happened. He’d be happy, we’d be happy, everyone except his parents would be happy.”

Neil agreed. 

_“So what was up about Parents’ Day? Yours too busy or something?”_

_Max jerked the yellow chalk back and forth. “Yeah. Too busy.” He blew on the wall, chalk dust puffing off the wall and sending Max into a coughing fit. “Aw fuck-”_

_“You okay?”_

_“Yeah, ‘m fine.” He hit his chest twice. “Chalk does not taste good.”_

_“Nikki would beg to differ.”_

_“So that explains where half the red chalk went.”_

_“Yep.” Neil drew the last curl of Max’s hair as Max finished coloring in Neil’s sweater._

_“David was asking me about_ this. _” The noiret lifted his left hand hand up, an off-white bandage wrapped around it._

_“Did you tell him the truth?”_

_Max grabbed a stick of brown chalk. “Hell no. As much as I don’t like him, I don’t want to give him a heart attack. Told him I cut my hand on a rock.”_

_“If he sees the scar, he’s not going to believe you.”_

_“That’s if it scars, though.”_

_“A wolf bite will probably scar. You saw the pictures you searched up, right?”_

_Max shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad.” He winced as he made a grabbing motion with his left hand._

_“Are you sure you’re okay?” The brunet stopped drawing_. 

_“Yeah, I’m sure.”_

_Neil dropped the black chalk he was holding. “Can I look at it?’_

_Max held his hand out. Neil took that as a ‘go ahead’._

_The taller boy gently grabbed the other’s hand and peeled back the bandage. The bite mark was healing, but it was still very visible. Neil remembered when it happened; they were just standing there when a light grey wolf came out of nowhere and bit Max. It had left right after which left both boys confused. Max joked that he must’ve not tasted good and Neil had bit back a laugh in favor of being concerned about Max’s state._

_He ran his thumb over where one of the canine teeth had pierced the boy’s palm. “You think we can steal a first-aid kit?”_

_Max shrugged. “You can distract Gwen and David with the leftover fireworks later.”_

_“‘You’? You mean ‘we’?”_

_“You’ll distract them, I’ll get a kit. I know where they are.”_

_Neil furrowed his brows, thinking about it. He considered the idea and sighed. “Yeah, alright. But don’t try to fix yourself up.”_

_“I know how to do first-aid, Neil.”_

_“I still want to do it.”_

_Max blinked, his eyes looking at nowhere-in-particular. “O-Oh.” He quickly shook his head, his usual annoyed expression returning. “Fine, I’ll wait. If you fuck it up though, I’ll give you rabies.”_

_Neil saw past the threat. “You don’t even have rabies.”_

_Max puffed his cheeks and stuffed his hand into his pocket, the sudden movement causing pain as evident by the boy’s face._

_“Careful!”_

_Max mumbled something Neil couldn’t hear._

“I miss David’s class.” Nikki expressed absently as the bell rang. She stood and swung her bookbag over her shoulder. “You want to go explore the city line for Max’s house?”

Neil opened his mouth to say yes, but then… 

_‘David.’_

An idea formed in the boy’s head. 

“Neil?”

“You… you should go home. I… I’m gonna go do something.” He turned to walk towards his old classroom.

“What?” Nikki sped out the door and to his side. “What do you have to do that’s more important than trying to find Max?” She grabbed both of his arms, forcing him to stop and look at her. 

“No, I…” His gaze turned serious. “I’m going to find him. Just… in a different way. Go home. Take the bus and I’ll text you when I find him.”

Mandy pink stared at cornflower blue for a moment. “...when?” Nikki quietly said, hope shining in her eyes. 

“ _When_.” Neil affirmed. His hands grabbed Nikki’s. “Because I am _not_ losing him again.”

With the turn of a heel, he ran down the hall and didn’t look back.

_‘Please still be here, please still be here…’_ The nerd’s hand grasped the lever handle and he sucked in a breath. He quickly knocked and opened it, seeing David packing up his stuff. 

He’d just caught him before he left. 

David perked when he saw the teen. “Oh, hi Neil! How’s your new classes?” 

“They’re… fine.” Neil closed the door behind him. 

“Do you need something?”

The brunet decided to cut to the chase. “Do you know where Max lives?”

David seemed to freeze for a moment. “W-Why would you need to know that…?” 

Neil tugged at his sweater sleeve. “Max has been ignoring us since Friday night and we’re really worried about him. His…” He bit his lip. 

David was an authority figure he could trust, right? He knew he loved Max like his own son. He’d want to hear this. 

“His parents are these abusive assholes who hurt him and I can’t stand letting him stay one more second in that place with them. I want to help him, David. And… and I don’t care if he’ll be mad at me forever if I do it; I just want him out. I want his parents behind bars. I want Max safe. I want him to be happy, even... if it’s not with me.” 

Neil looked up at the redhead. His expression was unreadable. “So… again, do you know where Max lives?”

“I…” David quietly started. He pondered for a while, leaving Neil to stand there in awkward silence. He could see through the window the busses load up students and pull out of the bus loop.

He prayed this would worked.

Luna glanced at Neil’s pleading face. He sighed, caving, and rubbed the back of his neck. “...I _do_ know where he lives…”

A shock of hopefulness shot through Neil. “Where?”

David lifted one of his school bags over his shoulder, his expression debating and unsure. “I can take you.”

“Please!” He knew he sounded desperate. He didn’t care. 

The ginger swiped his keys and briefly looked at the photo on his desk. “Follow me.” David gave a half-smile and ventured out the room. Neil hurriedly followed him, even beating him out of the school. The brunet quickly spotted the red car that he knew was David’s and sped to it.

Before he could turn to wait for the redhead, the locks clicked and Neil climbed in. He put the seatbelt on and watched David approach through the windshield. The teacher threw his bags into the backseat, then hopped into the driver side. “Max tell you this was mine?”

Neil nodded. David chuckled.

The gas started and David pulled out of the parking lot. Once they were in the actual street, Neil could feel anxiety bubble in him. What was he going to do exactly? Knock on the door and ask to see their son? Maybe he could force Max to come out by hanging out outside all day? God, he hoped this would be worth it.

...what was he thinking? Max was worth it. This would be worth it. 

Neil inhaled, then exhaled sharply. 

“...nervous?” David asked.

“...a little.” Neil admitted. Scratch that, he was _immensely_ nervous. He had no idea what he was doing. 

Neil watched as David turned passed all the streets the teens had tried out the day before. Just as the brunet had suspected; they got the wrong _Wendy’s_. 

The car eventually turned onto a two-way street that led through lines of trees on tiny hills. They emerged from the wooded area to see multiple neighborhoods. They passed by a few streets before David turned into one. 

The car slowed as they approached a cantaloupe orange house with two stories and two white garage doors. A window was on the second floor, the curtains- which were white- were parted and Neil could see guitar-like instruments hanging on a blue wall inside. That had to be Max’s house. Max had to be in that room.

Neil waited for David to stop so he could get out and thank him, but to his surprise, David pulled into the driveway and stopped the car. He parked it. Figuring David might’ve wanted to talk to Max or his parents, Neil unbuckled himself and got out of the car. David got out as well. 

Neil moved to go to the front door, but he stopped when he saw David move to the backdoor of the car. He pulled his bag out and his keys, then trekked to the white front door. Neil slowly followed, confused. 

He observed as David fumbled with the keys. The redhead picked one and plunged it into the lock, turned it, then opened the door. 

_‘Is this… David’s house…?’_

“Come in.” David said softly. 

Neil stepped in, the warm air hitting him. David shut the door behind him, then set the bag down on a sky blue English roll couch.

The teacher smiled at the scientist. “Max’s room is upstairs. He’s got the half of the Sparrow staff hanging on his door. Knock before you go in, okay?” 

Neil’s body moved on it’s own. Before he knew it, he was already halfway up the black walnut stairs. He paused, then looked up. There were photos lining the walls. Some were camp, some… weren’t. For example, there was a photo of Max with three dogs surrounding him. Unfamiliar people were in the background, all smiling. Max was smiling too, though his eyes were closed. He looked happy. 

There was another photo of what looked like Max and Gwen sleeping on the couch together, though it looked like it was an older picture taken back at the camp, evident by the log walls. 

When Neil took a step back and really looked at the pictures, it dawned on him.

_‘Max is living with David and Gwen.’_

He _was_ already away from his parents.

He _was_ \- arguably speaking- fine. 

He probably _was_ happy. Enough, at least.

Neil felt like an idiot.

_‘Not like… I could’ve known…’_ Neil tried to reason. He shook his head and continued upstairs. He looked down the hall, spotting the half of the staff David had been talking about. Mustering up as much courage as he could, Neil marched up to the dark brown door. Huffing, Neil rapped on the door a few times. After he did, he heard what sounded like bells and claws hitting the ground. 

“Yeah?”

That was Max’s voice. A voice Neil hadn’t heard in a while. Swallowing, Neil pushed open the door. 

The first thing he saw was Max on the bed, his eyes completely uncovered. He was in a loose light blue sweater that exposed his collarbone and wasn’t wearing his choker. Neil also noticed that there was a dog on the bed, as it lifted its head up and tilted it at Neil when he entered. 

He got a good look at the boy.

There were small burn scars on his collarbone, along with visible diagonal and vertical scars. Where his choker usually would’ve been was a healing bruise. 

But his eye…

It was a noticeable color change, being much lighter than his right eye. There was no pupil whatsoever. 

Max glanced up, then did a double take. Quickly, Max flung a light blue blanket on his shoulders, obscuring everything, and shook his head so his curls fell in front of his face.

Neil almost laughed at the action but managed to keep it in. “...I already saw, Max.” He moved to walk towards the teen, but suddenly, three dogs were crowding around him at his feet, all sniffing. 

“आशा, दालचीनी, सुमित! पिताजी के पास जाओ!” Max semi-shouted. The three dogs looked at him, then scurried off. Neil watched them race down the stairs. 

“...shut the door so they can’t get back in.” Neil did as told. When he looked back to Max, Max let the blanket drop and was in the middle of parting his hair. 

Neil opened his mouth to say something, but Max beat him to it. “I’m sorry.”

That caught Neil off-guard. “Wh-? No, it’s okay.” He spoke softly. He walked over to the younger boy’s bed and climbed on it after shuffling his shoes off. It was incredibly soft. 

_‘...like his hair.’_

“So… David and Gwen, huh?”

“That how you figure out where I lived?”

Neil tapped his fingertips together. “I asked David. He took me here.”

Max put a hand to his face and swore under his breath. He looked up at Neil. “You were really determined, huh?”

Neil found himself staring into Max’s damaged eye. 

Max noticed. He covered it up. “Sorry if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Neil blinked. “Wh- huh?” The brunet furrowed his brows and gently moved the black curls out of the other’s face, his hand cupping Max’s cheek. Even though he knew the noiret couldn’t see out of it, he looked into it. There was a small scar in it. 

Max awkwardly laughed. “I know it’s ugly.”

“No, it’s… pretty. Just as pretty as your other eye.”

Neil saw Max’s face redden. “Th-thank you, I guess.”

The brunet’s hand left Max’s face and instead moved to lightly hold his hand. “...can you… are you comfortable with telling me about… that?”

Max sucked in a breath. “I… don’t know if you want to hear about that… it’s not a fun story.”

“It’s an important one.”

“Ah…” Max hummed. 

“Like I said, only if you’re comfortable.”

Max thought for a moment. “No, I… I owe you. This is something you’ve wanted to know for a while and after three years of not knowing…”

Neil nodded, then a thought popped into his head. “Where are your parents?”

“Jail.” Max smirked. “Motherfuckers finally got caught. Couldn’t pay their way out of _that_.”

“Pay?”

“I had a wealthy family, remember? People preferred money over morals. Fucked up, I know.”

That made Neil angry. But he chose not to show it.

“Well,” Max sighed, “here goes nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be honest with me, how many of you already figured out he was living with David and Gwen?  
> I considered making Max still live with his parents, but then that would make conversations in Ch. 3 and Ch. 8 meaningless.  
> Next chapter will get graphic.  
> @DanVD ask and you shall [ receive](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qYT7NMDjYNR_y5tbsk1nazzovqeysJ23xZ6oZerqE5g/edit?usp=sharing).  
> Also! I love talking to you guys so if you ever wanna talk dm me on insta or tumblr :)


	12. I Miss You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Painful memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who have wanted a chapter from Max's POV, congrats, here you go.  
>  **Warnings (some of these are brief): Mentioned animal death, emotional/verbal/physical/child abuse & neglect, self-inflicted bruises, manipulation, and unwanted touching/sexual assault**  
> Watch me fail at writing abuse.  
> I used Google Translate so if any of the Hindi is _really_ wrong... yeah.  
> This is almost 30k words and I am so sorry for how long this is.

**August 27th, 2016 (11:53 AM)**

He wasn’t too confident, to be honest. For the past few days, Max had been wondering about what would happen if his parents didn’t show up at all. David and Gwen would probably take him to the police, wouldn’t they? They’d be able to find his parents in no time.

The kids were gathered around the front entrance to the camp, each child waiting for their relatives. Ered’s fathers came first, thanking the counselors. A thought of telling the agents about his parents crossed his mind, but he made no effort to carry out the idea. 

Then Space Kid’s. It was an actual parent this time, not his uncle. The kid’s mother seemed frazzled, quickly scooping the space fanatic up and speeding away. No one said too much about it. 

Nerris’ came next. Her mother spoke to David while the geek’s father was engaged in a conversation with Harrison. Max only needed Nerris’ facial expression to know that her father was probably teasing the two magic users. It wasn’t a secret- to Max at least- that those two “rivals” actually liked each other. He knew what a crush looked like.

He had one, after all. 

Speaking of… Max carefully slinked next to Neil. “Who do you think’s going next? I’m placing my bets on Harrison.”

“Why him?” Neil looked down at him. 

Max hesitated, almost getting lost in Neil’s eyes. He shrugged, tearing his own eyes away. “It’d just be fuckin’ funny if his came while her’s are still here.”

From the corner of his eye, he could see a smile quirk. “It _would_ be funny.” He also knew of the two’s mutual crush. 

Right before it seemed like the Dunkelman family was about to leave, another car pulled up. 

Seeing who was inside, Max leaned over and whispered. “Told you.”

Out stepped Harrison’s parents, just as fearful as they were the last time they came. There was a part of Max that hoped the magician would be okay. He _had_ gotten a lot better at his magic since the beginning of camp and he _had_ made Nerris’ sword reappear. He wondered what was worse; parents who hurt you or parents who were absolutely _terrified_ of you. 

The families interacted a bit, then said goodbyes and climbed into their respective cars. But not before Nerris and Harrison hugged. Tightly. As if they’d never see or talk to each other again. 

Max thought about if the same fate happened to him, Neil, and Nikki. _‘We exchanged numbers.’_ He reminded himself. 

That was four kids gone.

Six left. 

Max was… nervous, to say the least. He noticed how his body trembled slightly. He didn’t know what he wanted. Did he want his parents to show up or not? At the end of the day he was still going to end up in that lonely manor. 

Dolph’s mother showed up, very clearly pregnant. David congratulated the woman (Max managed to pick up that she was six months along) while Dolph piled his stuff into the van. Preston and Nurf helped him move paintings into the back. 

Five left.

Max let his hand hang next to him, next to Neil’s. He glanced at the taller kid, wanting nothing more than to have one more night where the two slept in the same cot, Neil’s hand wafting through Max’s hair. 

But he wouldn’t get that for another year, would he?

_‘That’s assuming Neil’s coming back.’_

The noiret quietly huffed. _‘Fuck it.’_ His hand slipped into Neil’s. The nerd looked at him inquisitively. 

“You looked nervous.” Max mumbled. It wasn’t a complete lie. Everyone was.

With a quiet “oh”, Neil tightened his around Max’s and suddenly, Max felt safe. He stepped a little closer and hoped no one saw them. 

Max glanced around. Preston and Nikki were talking, Nurf was poking at the wooden poles with one of his various knives, and Neil was next to him, holding his hand. 

“I bet mine’s next.” Neil said.

“Your mom or dad?” 

Neil shrugged. “Not sure.”

“Who do you want it to be? I’d assume your mom?”

Neil shrugged again. “Honestly not sure.”

Max tilted his head at that. What about his mom did Neil not like? The noiret opened his mouth to ask, but another car pulled up. One that was familiar. 

It was a white limo.

_‘Fuck.’_ Max’s body stiffened. So they did come.

“Who’s is that?” Nikki questioned bewilderedly.

“Mine.” The noiret squeaked.

“Yours?” Preston marveled. “That’s a limo!” 

Anything Preston said after was tuned out. The car came closer, far closer than any of the other cars did. For a moment, Max thought that his parents- or whoever it was behind the wheel- was going to run him down. But the limo stopped.

Swallowing, Max squeezed Neil’s hand, almost like a plea for help. But what would Neil do? He knew _nothing_ of his home life. Jones almost laughed darkly. That was _his_ fault. He never opened up. 

Max lifted his bag. He walked over to the back door and opened it. The inside was dark. He could see his parents in the back, his mother had a wine glass and his father was on his phone. Max glanced back at the remaining kids of the camp. He locked eyes with Nikki, then Neil. He smiled, as if to comfort himself. Though, it wasn’t a genuinely happy kind of one. 

“ _Max_.” His father’s voice was low but commanding. The boy stuck a hand out as a goodbye and climbed in. After shutting the door behind him, he sat at the seat closest to him, completely opposite of the adults. The seats were a somewhat comfortable maroon-colored velvet. He could feel the car start to move and he couldn’t help but stare out the dark window and watch the camp disappear behind them.

“How was camp?” His mother asked after taking a sip of white wine. 

“...it was alright.”

His mother nodded. No one said anything for the rest of the ride.

* * *

**(1:48 PM)**

**Aug 27, 1:48 PM**

**Dorkass: Are you home yet?**

It took Max a moment to remember who it was. When he did, his lips quirked up.

**yes**

The noiret glanced behind him at his upcoming parents. 

**but i can’t talk rn**

His father never did want Max texting anybody.

His mother never did want Max to have any friends. 

**Dorkass: Oh, okay. Text me when you can?**

_‘Of course Neil would be the type to fully grammatize his texts.’_

**will do**

Max huffed and shoved his phone into his bag. He looked up as he made his way to the middle of the foyer, the large gold crystal chandelier hanging above him. 

_‘Feels great to be back.’_ The boy bit back a sarcastic laugh. _‘Wonder what the fiery pits of hell have in store for me this year.’_

Max sped up the stairs and straight to his room, not wanting to deal with whatever bullshit his parents were going to put him through. Once he was in, he threw his duffel bag onto his small bed. The room itself seemed dead, probably meaning no one had entered it in a while. 

Max heaved a sigh and flung his body onto the bed. 

Least it was comfortable.

He turned onto his back, his eyes opting to stare at the ceiling. He could point out the tiny cracks in it. As if a truck hit him, he remembered all the names he’d given the fake constellations. A small smile appeared on his face as he pointed at each one. 

The boy wondered if any new ones appeared. 

Probably not.

Max spotted the empty corner. There were no marks in the ceiling whatsoever. 

An idea formed in the noiret’s head. He dug through his bag and flicked out a pocket knife. He hopped off the bed and climbed up his desk. He held the knife against the ceiling and slowly carved into it. He wasn’t an artist- a carver?- but dammit, he’d try. 

_‘Curve the line here…’_ Max carefully stepped back, observing the mark he’d made. 

It was a tree. A tree that represented Camp Campbell.

…

…

... _fuck_ he missed it.

Jones pushed himself back down to the floor. He glanced at the clock. 

His parents wouldn’t bother him, right?

Glancing back at his door, Max quickly changed into something a bit more comfortable: a grey loose sweater and black athletic shorts. He gripped the handles of the duffel bag, but then he stopped. Hesitantly, he reached in- past the bundle of blue flowers- and pulled out a picture that he’d tucked into a small folder. It was a picture of the gang. Max couldn’t fight the smile that etched onto his lips. He was glad he decided to risk taking both with him.

There was a picture frame around here somewhere, wasn’t there?

* * *

**August 28th, 2016 (7:02 AM)**

Max slowly opened his eyes, feeling something touching his arm. He turned, being met with his mother’s face. 

"शुभ - प्रभात बच्चे!" She cheered, stroking her son’s hair in an uncomfortable way. 

“सुप्रभात माँ” Max hummed, a bit annoyed that his mother would wake him so early. 

“Your _pita_ and I have to leave.” There was still a smile there. “Don’t mess up the house! We wouldn’t want your _pita_ angry, would we?” She laughed, then moved to the door. “Love you, _bachcha_!” 

“No you don’t.” Max quietly mumbled, sitting up. He rubbed at his eyes, somehow forgetting where he was for a moment as he braced to hear the “good morning campers” he had grown accustomed to. It never came and he blinked, remembering where he was. He groaned and flopped back down, his legs giving a little angry kick. 

Though muffled, Max heard the engine of his father’s limo start. _‘Show-offs.’_

Max eventually trudged his way out of his room. His footsteps echoed against the cherry hardwood flooring. Past a few more rooms was the curved staircase that led to where the kitchen was. He trekked down it, briefly having an idea of sliding down the railing like he did when he was trying to run from… 

Max didn’t finish that thought. 

His bare feet touched the floor. It was colder than the one upstairs. Max poked his head into the kitchen. It was larger than others, he knew. Glass cabinets lined the walls, all showing off full bottles of alcohol and expensive plates and cutlery. There was one locked cabinet (it did _not_ have glass) that held all Max’s father’s cheap beer and liquor. 

Couldn’t let people know he liked the cheap stuff, right?

Max grunted as he pulled on the freezer door. Peering in, he started to dig around. Those chocolate waffles had to be somewhere in there…

They were at the bottom, basically crushed. _‘Fucker better still be good. I didn’t risk almost getting kidnapped by that store for nothing.’_ He popped the box open and pulled the remaining four out. Almost effortlessly, he flattened the box and tossed it in the recycling bin while dropping the four waffles into the toaster. He slammed the press handle down, then went back over to the French door fridge for a drink. The noiret pulled it open and observed his options. There were juice boxes, little Gatorade’s, and… the weird sippy cups with apple cider in them that his mother tried to feed him. He rolled his eyes and snatched a juicebox, stabbing a hole into it. He opened the recycling bin up again and laughed under his breath at seeing boxes from months- almost a year now- ago. It reminded him how little he really ate before camp. Given, he still didn’t eat that much, but it was definitely more than before.

The scent of chocolate filled the room, making Max more hungry than he already was. He paced around the kitchen, only stopped when he finally noticed the printed letter on the dark brown quartz counter. 

_1\. Clean the basement (don’t touch the gun case)_  
_2\. Make the counters and kitchen floor shine_  
_3\. Fix your room_  
_4\. Throw away the cat stuff_  
_5\. Organize the freezer_  
_6\. Tune the piano_  
_7\. Sort shoes in closet_  
_8\. Clean your violin_  
_9\. Make sure all lights are working_  
_10\. Fluff the throw pillows_

_ लव यू, मेरे छोटे गलफुला बच्चे! _

Max tried to ignore the last part, but his hand subconsciously touched his stomach and suddenly he didn't want those waffles.

His first day back and already he has a list of chores. Fuck.

The waffles popped and Max took a moment to enjoy the peace. He had until his parents got home to finish all ten, and from what he remembered, they both would be back by ten at the earliest, four in the morning at the latest. But that really depended on where they were going…

...wait, fuck, where _were_ they going? Did his mother say?

Hopefully it was to a dinner party or just a regular party. That was what it usually was. 

The boy grabbed a pen from the glass on top of the microwave and snatched the paper with all his chores on it. 

He started with fluffing the pillows. There were around five couches throughout the house with at least four pillows on each one. He hoped his folks hadn’t gotten any more. 

Once done, it was crossed off the list. He did the shoes, violin, and piano in the span of an hour. Next was the basement. He could get that and number four done, since the cat stuff was down there. 

The wooden stairs creaked under his still bare feet. _‘Dumbass.’_ He reprimanded himself. _‘If I get a splinter, I’m suing the house.’_

As soon as his foot touched the ground, he yelped. "भगवान - यीशु मसीह को कमबख्त!" It’d been a long time since he’d felt anything that cold. Putting his foot back down and getting used to the freezing flooring, Max pulled a small cord and the whole basement lit up. 

Against the wall were cabinets and boxes that were full of guns and ammo. It scared him a bit, especially since the pistol was on clear display like a trophy. The same pistol his father… 

Max quickly shook the memories away and moved past the display. In a small cubby were a bunch of cat toys and cat care items. In the cat bed were two thin collars; one pink and one purple. The purple one said “Nisha” and the pink one said “Pavani”. 

…

He missed them.

Anger and guilt bubbled in him. He remembered when the cats had suddenly disappeared one night.

_"माँ, निशा और पावनी चली गई हैं।" The boy tugged on his mother’s sleeve, tears threatening to fall after spending hours trying to find his beloved pets._

_She looked down at him, an odd smile on her face. “Don’t worry,_ bachcha, _they’re just on an adventure.” Her claw-like nails roughly combed through Max’s short black curls._

Two years after they were gone, Max discovered their decomposed bodies in the backyard, obvious bullet-sized holes in their heads.

_“_ Maan, Maan, _there’s something wrong!”_

He had cried for five hours straight. Then he got his ass beat by his father when he got angry after being informed that his mother had his father kill them. 

Max was told they ran away because he was a horrible pet owner, but it turned out that Max’s mother was “jealous” and claimed her son had been spending more time with the pets than her, which confused Max to no end since even after they disappeared his mother made no effort to spend time with him at all.

_“Maximus, you know why they left, don’t you?”_

_“N-No?” The six-year-old held his wrist. His father had a strong grip, which was something he admired as long as it wasn’t against him._

_“Ah,” Alisha piped in. “_ Bachcha, _they left because they weren’t happy.”_

_The young boy was confused. “What? But-”_

_“You weren’t treating them right.” The matriarch shushed her son. “They hated the food you gave them, the way you petted them…”_

_“You were a terrible pet owner.” His father interjected._

_Alisha didn’t remark about her husband’s comment. “And oh, they saw how poor you were treating your own_ maan! _Mommy was very hurt about you choosing them over me.”_

_Tears sprang from the boy’s eyes. His mother was hurt over his actions. He’d hurt her. What kind of son was he?_

_Max’s mother pulled him into a tight, cold embrace. She stroked his head, but it didn’t at all feel loving. “This is your fault, you know?” She whispered._

_Max nodded and continued to cry, clinging onto his mother as if he’d lose her in a split second._

_He woke up on the floor of the smallest bathroom the next morning. Both his parents seemed to be gone and the door was locked._

_Max patiently waited for their return, but he wasn’t let out until three days later._

That was when he started convincing himself that his mother didn’t care about him. It didn’t matter what she said, she didn’t love him. Maybe she never did. 

It felt somewhat wrong to be getting rid of their stuff. Yeah, they were gone, but… 

He’d keep the collars. His parents wouldn’t know, right?

Max painfully gathered everything into a black trash bag. He tied it and tried his hardest not to think about it. He loved those felines, dammit. They didn’t do anything wrong. 

It was his fault, really. He should’ve tried to spend more time with his mother, even if she pretended like he wasn’t there. 

Heaving a sigh, Max also crossed off number nine. All the lights had been working, so… well, he hadn’t checked the pool lights. But did he really want to stand on the edge of something his parents had pushed him into multiple times? He’d rather not fear for his life right now. He did that enough when the adults were _in_ the house, thank you very much. 

The noiret raced to his room. All it really needed was dusting and a bit of organization. Though, he was sure his father would find some speck of dust to yell at him for. 

On his black nightstand sat the now framed picture of Camp Campbell. _‘Would they be mad about this?’_

No friends. That was a staple rule. That was why he didn’t try to make friends. It wasn’t like he believed they would stick around, anyway. 

But these kids were different.

Nikki was different.

Neil was _very_ different. 

Max made a mental note to text the nerd after all the chores were complete. 

He really wanted to keep contact with them. They were his first real friends. 

And he loathed his mother for depriving him of friendships. 

He loathed his father for forcing the friends he had made to turn their backs on him; to leave him.

_“That’s what happens when you involve others in family business.” Sai stared down at the boy that was shaking against the man’s grip. “Don’t do it again.” He let go and Max scurried off to his room, terrified the whole way there._

Max hesitantly put the frame into the drawer, face down. His parents didn’t go through his stuff, he was sure. They wouldn’t see that, right?

He hoped not.

The boy looked down at the list. His violin was tucked neatly in the closet (at least last time he checked). He opened up the closet door, his gaze flickering to the black case. Why did his parents care if the violin was cleaned, anyway? It wasn’t like they listened to him play. 

Max set the violin down after cleaning it up. He glanced to his left. There was a small journal squished under a giant teddy bear. _‘Right, I own that.’_ He grimaced as he saw the dark stains on the bear’s torso, knowing full well that his own blood from the past three or so years. Shaking the thoughts away, Max gripped the journal. It was like a diary. It was old, though. 

Max flipped through it, wanting to find a specific page. Finally he got to a worn down paper- he’d visited this one a lot. 

_Boys are gross. Their hands are rough. They’re ugly. They only care about themselves. They’re cold. They’re mean. Their faces are ugly. Their eyes are dull._

All along the page were sentences about how boys were disgusting. Max laughed out loud, then grabbed the pen and wrote a quick sentence in the empty space at the bottom, just under _I’m not gay._

_Too bad, buddy. You’re gay._

Max laughed again. His eight-year old self had to be rolling in his grave. He tried to convince himself he wasn’t- really he did, but a certain brown-haired nerd didn’t quite let that be the case. 

A part of Max wished he had confessed. The other part of him told him Neil was straight and had no interest in Max- not like that, anyway. Max knew what it was like to have a crush- he’d had many before Neil (though at the time he refused to acknowledge them). However, he didn’t fall as hard as he did with them than he did with Neil. None of them made him experience an excessive heart rate, none of their smiles made him feel the way Neil’s did, and none of them made him daydream about kissing them. It was always hand holding for all the others. 

Max still remembered the day he realized. 

_“Maaaaxxx,” Neil drawled out. “When the fuck are you going to come out here? What are you even doing?”_

_Max paced and forth, cursing as he saw Neil’s silhouette through the tent_

_He had a crush, a CRUSH on his best friend. His male best friend! That wasn’t normal. That wasn’t normal at all! Maybe his parents knew before he did. Maybe they acted the way they did because they knew. He wasn’t normal. He was disgusting. He was such a fa-_

_“Max!” The noiret blinked, seeing that Neil had entered their shared tent. Neil’s hands were holding his upper arms and his face was mere inches away. Mountain meadow eyes unwillingly flickered to the taller boy’s lips. A thought passed through Max’s head and it took everything not to act on it. “Breathe, okay? You’re about to have a panic attack…”_

__

_Max did as instructed while also trying to keep his distance. Something about Neil always made Max’s chest tighten and his stomach implode._

__

_“Your face is red.” Neil pointed out. He used the back of his hand to touch Max’s forehead. “Do you need to lie down or something? I can tell David and Gwen you’re sick.”_

‘Sick.’

_“N-No, I’m okay. Just… give me a second.”_

_“Are you sure?”_

_“Yeah.”_

The night that followed was something he’d treasure. Even if it wasn’t significant. 

_Max blinked, barely conscious. He remembered sitting on a log next to Neil, yawning over and over. The next moment, he felt someone pick him up but he was too tired to put up a fight. He wasn’t lifted five feet into the air so he knew it wasn’t David or Gwen. He knew it was one of the taller kids, too. After struggling a bit, Max managed to crack an eye open to see a yellow sweater and brown hair. The boy blinked again and found himself being set onto his cot._

_Max swore he heard someone saying something to him. He tiredly blinked, trying to focus._

_“-y, are you alright?” It was Neil. Because of course it was._

_Max could feel his face burn. That sent Neil into a panic. “You’re hot again! Are you sure you’re not ill?” He moved to exit the tent. “I-I can go get Da-” Max grabbed his wrist before he could leave._

_“I’m..._ fine. _Just… tired.” Why was there an overwhelming need to slip his hand into Neil’s?_

_“Are you sure you’re sure?”_

_Max nodded, letting his body sink into the flat pillow. “Yeah. Go to sleep, nerd.” He turned his body, unconsciousness overtaking him quickly._

Max quietly cleaned the violin, briefly playing a song to test out the tuning. 

“A girl like you should never look so blue…” _Max hummed tossing a stone in his hand._ “You’re everything I see in my dreams.” _He threw it at a tree. A loud thud rang out._

“I wouldn’t say that to you if it wasn’t tr- _WHAT THE FUCK?!” The boy in blue nearly screamed. He had turned a corner to see David standing there, a proud smile on his face._

_“Wow, Max! I didn’t know you could sing!”_

_“I-I can’t!”_

_“I think you sound great!” David ruffled Jones’ hair, completely ignoring what the boy had said._

_Max tore himself away from the touch. “Then you need to get your ears checked.” He huffed._

_“Hm… no, I don’t think I do! Say, have you ever played a musical instrument?”_

_The noiret paused, debating if he should tell the truth._

_“I’ll take that as a yes!” Guess he took too long. “What do you play? Guitar?”_

_Max sighed. “Violin, you twat.”_

_“Really?” David’s smile somehow grew wider. “Oh! Have you ever tried ukulele?”_

_“No.”_

_“Do you want to?”_

_Max was about to say “no”, but then he thought about it. He… did kind of want to learn a new instrument. “...yeah.”_

_“I think Gwen has an old spare somewhere!” He piped. “I’ll go find it and give it to you in the morning!” Suddenly his expression shifted to a more disciplinary one. “And wait, what were you doing out here this late? You should be in your tent!”_

_“Can’t a guy plot to destroy a camp?” Max quipped. He glanced at the camp counselor. “Well, I’m gonna go lay in bed for eternity. Have fun doing whatever you do with that log at night.”_

_“I don’t-”_

_“Hey, I’m not judging,” Max pushed past David’s tree legs and trekked towards his tent._

Maybe he should’ve been nicer to David. Hell, he probably should’ve been nicer to _everyone._

Max glanced at his phone. He could start now.

But did he want to be vulnerable?

* * *

**August 29th, 2016 (9:13 AM)**

**Dumbass: But u didnt answer the question**

**Dumbass: Is baby oil made from babies**

**Dorkass: No? Why would you think it was made from babies?**

**Dumbass: Well cuz vegetable oil is made from vegetables**

**Dumbass: And corn oil is made of corn**

**Dumbass: And canola oil is made of canola**

**Dorkass: I hate that your question makes even the slightest bit of sense.**

**Dumbass: HA**

**what about human oil**

**Dorkass: What the fuck is human oil?**

**sweat**

**Dorkass: Well, sweat is made from water. Ammonia is a chemical in sweat along with urea, salts, and sugar. So, I don’t think “human oil” is inherently made of humans.**

**i didn’t ask to be lectured but ok**

**Dorkass: You technically did ask.**

**shut the fuck up**

A notification from another chat appeared on Max’s phone.

**Dumbass: Whats the oldest tree**

**Dumbass: ?**

**Ms. Magic: At camp?**

**Ms. Magic: I think it’s that big one by the lake**

**Dorkass: A Great Bristlecone Pine.**

**Dumbass: No**

**Dorkass: Yes?**

**Dumbass: An elder!**

**Dorkass: What?**

**Dumbass: It was a joke**

**Dumbass: That no one got**

**Dumbass: :((((**

**BeepBeepBitchYou’reGay: i got it**

**Dumbass: Thank u!!!!**

**BadShakespeare: I GOT IT!!!**

**Dumbass: Thank u!!!!!!**

**what’s the largest room?**

**Dumbass: Uh what**

**the room for improvement**

**get better jokes**

**Dumbass: Get original jokes**

**yours wasn’t original dumbass**

**Dumbass: >:((**

**Dorkass: I feel like this is why Nikki’s contact name is ‘Dumbass’ in Max’s phone.**

**u are absolutely correct**

**Dumbass: I am???? offended???**

**good.**

**Mind Freaker: What I wake up to**

**Dorkass: *What did I wake up to?**

**Mind Freaker: I just woke up leave me alone**

**Dumbass: Wuh woh the two gays go at it (；￣ロ￣)**

**Dorkass: What the fuck, Nikki.**

**not our fault u have a hate boner for harrison**

**Dorkass: I don’t??!! I just mildly dislike him??**

**Mind Freaker: Ouch**

**damn neil**

**Mind Freaker: I mean, the feeling’s mutual**

**Ms. Magic: He’s just mad that he’s not epic**

**Mind Freaker: Did you just admit that you think I’m epic?**

**Ms. Magic: no**

**Dumbass: OMG U DID**

**Ms. Magic: NO I DIDN’T**

Max laughed. 

**मां: What are you laughing about?**

Max cursed under his breath.

**A funny video, Mama.**

**मां: Come downstairs. Your father and I want to talk to you.**

Max titled his head. _‘What’d I do?’_ His parents only wanted to talk to him to either yell at or make vaguely rude remarks at him. Or, in his mother’s case, feign love. 

The noiret left his phone in his room as he traveled down the stairs. He spotted his parents at the dining table. 

“Sit.” Alisha gestured towards an open seat next to her. 

Max pulled himself onto the chair, cursing about how short he was in his mind. His legs hung off the chair, just barely being longer than the white cotton tablecloth.

“Your _pita_ and I have noticed a change in you.” _‘They noticed something? That’s a first.’_

“You’ve become ruder.” _‘Excuse, me, what?’_ “And distant. You’re spending more time in your room and you…” _‘Is she… crocodile tears, seriously?_ ’ “You are ignoring us! You’re own parents!”

Max eyes almost bugged out. _He_ was ignoring _them_?! And what did she mean by distant? It was the second full day of being home! He didn’t _want_ to spend hours of his day pressing white keys or holding down strings. He didn’t _want_ to spend hours cleaning things that no one paid attention to. He _wanted_ to text his friends. He _wanted_ to text his crush. He _wanted_ to be a normal kid.

The boy’s face twisted to one of anger, so many suppressed emotions begging to come out. 

“I…” He tried to breathe, trying to not blow up at them. “ _I’m_ ignoring _you_? After… _years_ of you both _neglecting_ me, _I’m_ ignoring _you_?” 

His mother dramatically gasped. “We’ve _never_ neglected you! We love you. Why would we do that?”

_“माँ …” A five-year-old boy poked at his mother’s wrist. “माँ, शिक्षक आपसे बात करना चाहते थे …"”_

...

_“निशा ने मुझे नोच डाला!” It was a small scratch, but to a four-year old, it felt like he was going to die._

_His father barely glanced at him. “You’ll be fine.”_

…

 _“_ English, _Maxy. No one can understand you when you speak.” Pale pink nails ran through his hair._

_“S-Sorry.” Max quietly mumbled. He wasn’t quite used to speaking in English yet. He only had a basic understanding since his grandmother was teaching him and she wasn’t the best at the language._

…

_“My mom said I can’t be your friend anymore.”_

_Max blinked, looking up at the boy with dark orange hair. “What?”_

_“Your papa’s scary.” The boy, Devon, dragged his foot against the mulch. “And he said he’d hurt my mom… so… bye Max.”_

_The noiret watched Devon leave, confusion dominating his mind for the next few days._

“‘You love me?’ That’s hard to believe.”

He could see his father glaring at him. 

“ _Maximus_.” Said boy held an unamused expression, his arms crossed. “ _Maximus Tana Jones._ ”

“Ooh, full name. How frightening.” Max spat. 

“Do _not_ speak to me like that!” His father stood sharply, rage lacing his voice. 

Max went silent. He knew he was pushing his luck, standing up to his parents. Especially to his father. He knew what that man was capable of.

“To all hell… that camp really did change you. Sending you was a mistake.”

 _‘No it wasn’t.’_ Max bit the words back. “ _Please_ , you think _I’m_ a mistake.”

Neither parent denied it. Max could feel his heart get crushed but it wasn’t like he already knew this. 

Max’s mother composed herself. “I really do not like this rebellion, Max.”

“What rebellion?” Max responded. “I’ve been like this. You two just never noticed.”

“No.” Alisha objected. “I know my son.” _‘Oh, do you now?’_ “Something really _has_ changed in you.”

Max groaned. “ _No! Nothing_ has changed!” He was raising his voice. It reminded him of all the times he got angry at David. “I have _been_ like this for years!” He stood on the chair, now almost being level with the adults. “And it’s _your_ fault, you know!”

“ _Enough_ , Maximus.” His father warned.

“Bad parents raise bad kids. That’s what you said when I was eight. Well, _look_! I’m a bad kid, right?! So, by your own _goddamn_ logic you both are horrible, pathetic _piss poor fucking_ excuses of parents-!” Max had missed his father marching up to him until he felt a sharp sting on his cheek. His body turned as he fell from the impact and his face almost collided with the back of the chair. Max didn’t get a moment to breathe, as his father hoisted him up by the neckline of his sweater.

“ _Don’t_ ever _speak to me like that, do you understand me_?” Sai hissed.

A sudden wave of fear enveloped the boy. His head moved before he had time to think. 

“Good.” The man dropped Max without warning. 

Max’s hand touched his cheek, briefly wondering if someone could bleed from getting slapped too hard. He glanced up, his gaze locking with his mother’s eyes. 

“Go to your room and do not come out unless we say so.” 

Max involuntarily scurried off, many emotions sparking. He was upset, angry, frustrated, and… for some reason, happy? He couldn’t explain it even if he tried.

He slammed the door behind him, instantly regretting it as he knew his parents heard it. Max slumped onto his bed as angry tears formed at the corner of his eyes. 

This year was going to be even worse, wasn’t it?

Max could see his phone screen light up. 

_'Camp…’_

Max practically lunged for his phone. He unlocked it, being met with over two hundred messages.

**Dumbass: Whered max go**

**Ms. Magic: Maybe he didn’t want to put up with ur jokes**

**Dumbass: Whattttttttt**

**Dumbass: But i made a joke abt anarchy and arson!!!!!**

**Dumbass: Those r maxs favorites**

**Dorkass: Incorrect. He likes any kind of joke if it’s making fun of someone.**

**Dumbass: Wut r u a max expert??**

**Dorkass: If you want to call me that, sure.**

Max bit his lip to silence the giggle that threatened to leave him. Neil probably did know the most about him.

**he is the most qualified out of all of u**

**Dumbass: He returns!!!!!!!**

Maybe everything would be okay if he still had his friends here.

* * *

**(8:43 PM)**

_‘Don’t look at them…’_ Max carefully walked past his parents to the front door. He technically hadn’t been allowed out of his room, but goddammit he was tired of being stuck in that stuffy place. So far, his parents hadn’t seemed to notice his absence- not like they would care. All the other times he did this, they never acknowledged it. 

He had thrown on his camp clothes- save for the yellow shirt. Max glanced around the foyer. No one. 

He grabbed hold of the doorknob of the left door and opened it slightly, squeezing his body through the small crack he made. 

The air was warm. It reminded Max of camp. 

Max stalked down the stairs and onto the grey brick pavement. He looked around, making sure no one was out there. After affirming to himself that he was alone, Max hurried down the path to the gate. He looked back. Still no one.

The boy climbed up the black iron fence. It was colder than he thought it’d be. 

Max let himself fall, cringing at how loud his shoes clacked against the brick. He looked back again. _‘I’m just paranoid.’_ Max shook his head and started running. He wanted to get away from the house. 

His parents wouldn’t care if he was gone as long as he was back before they left in the morning, right?

* * *

**August 30th, 2016 (5:25 AM)**

Wrong. 

They did care (for once).

“You directly disobeyed your _maan’s_ orders.” Sai held his son’s wrist tightly. “You were told to stay in your room.”

Max narrowed his eyes. “I was in there for hours! You wouldn’t have let me out until tomorrow! And even _that’s_ unlikely!” 

His father’s grip tightened. Max was sure it’d leave a bruise. “Don’t you _dare_ shout at me!”

“Well, how am I _supposed_ to respond to you? Because I sure as hell am not just going to sit here and take your bullshit!”

Sai slapped his son but it wasn’t nearly as hard as the day before. “Watch your goddamn language!”

Max knew he should’ve shut up. He knew this was a mistake. But he didn’t. “Watch your own fucking language!”

The next thing Max knew, his body was roughly shoved at the counter, his head hitting the countertop edge sharply. Max’s vision began going black as the pain started to set in. His hand moved to the back of his head by itself, encountering something wet. 

The noiret’s face was forced up by a large hand in a fistful of his hair. _‘Campbell…?’_ It took a moment to realize who it actually was. He blinked, his vision somehow focusing. 

_“Keep talking to me like that and you won’t live to see next year.”_ He dropped the boy. Max fell to the ground, his forehead colliding with the hard floor. “Worthless, no good piece of shit.”

 _‘This is… my fault.’_ It was his fault his father hurt him, right? He was to blame like always, right? He was the bad one in the situation, right? 

_‘No… no this isn’t…’_ God, his head was fucked up.

He could barely hear his father’s footsteps fading as Max’s whole world went dark. 

* * *

**September 1st, 2016 (8:12 PM)**

Three knocks and the knob turned. Max shoved his phone under his pillow and turned, facing his mother. He had been avoiding both parents since the kitchen incident. Max checked to see if he had a concussion and he was pretty sure he was fine.

“Max.” She started, her face unusually stoic. “I have some news.”

The noiret slowly swung his legs off the side of his bed, his eyes staring into his mother’s. 

“Your _pita_ and I had decided that we want to homeschool you.”

Wait, did he hear that right? He replayed the words in his head. He thought his parents would be ecstatic to have him leave the house for eight hours a day. Why homeschool him if they wanted nothing to do with him?

“...why?” Max found himself asking.

“We want to fix your behaviour.” A barely noticeable pang of fear clicked in Max. “It starts on Monday.” Alisha emotionlessly ruffled her son’s hair, then left.

 _‘Well… fuck.’_

He didn’t like public school, anyway. It might not be so bad.

* * *

**(10:39 PM)**

**guess who’s getting homeschooled**

**…**

**_Not Delivered_ **

Max frowned. He’d attempted to send variations of the same text but none of them went through. He tried the Discord server Nerris had set up for everyone and found the Internet decided to take the day off. 

He was frustrated. He’d read the conversation the group chat had about what schools they were going to. Everyone in the groupchat was going to be going to the same one. Neil and Nikki had both texted him privately, asking where he would be going. He felt awful that his phone decided to say “fuck you” and not send anything he was trying to say, especially when they showed concern about him. 

Max threw his phone across his bed, just barely being able to muffle a frustrated groan.

“Why the fuck isn’t it…” _‘Call.’_

Maybe calling would work. 

The boy snatched his device and quickly tapped on Neil’s contact. The phone rang. 

It kept ringing.

And kept ringing.

_'Please work…’_

It went silent. 

Max pulled away from the phone. It was back on Neil’s contact. 

The call didn’t go through. 

Max leaned back, holding the device close to his chest. His parents probably turned the service off his phone or something like that. He wasn’t technology smart, but he knew his father was; he ran a phone company, after all.

His phone buzzed. 

**Dorkass: Did you just call me?**

Jones’ fingers moved on their own.

**yes**

**…**

_**Not Delivered**_

Max sighed. Maybe things would be better in the morning.

* * *

**September 2nd, 2016 (8:11 AM)**

Things were better in the morning.

**yeah srry i was busy**

**Dorkass: I’m glad you’re okay.**

**Dumbass: I was rlly worried**

**u shouldn’t have been**

“Maximus!” Sai shouted and Max’s body froze. 

**brb**

He raced to the kitchen. The elder Jones was standing in almost the same spot two days prior. 

“What is _this_?” He pointed at a red stain on the countertop. 

“That’s…” Max felt uneasy. “That’s my… blood…” He fought the urge to touch his head wound. 

“Why is it still here?”

“I…” Max thought back to that night. He had woken up in his bed, the duvet loosely covering him. “I guess no one ever cleaned it…”

“You _guess_?”

“...yeah?” Max fiddled with the hem of his hoodie. “Either you or _maan_ took me upstairs that night after I passed out and I haven’t exactly been allowed out since then.”

His father pondered for a moment. He was thinking. Thinking of a way to blame Max, probably. 

Eventually he huffed. “Just get it cleaned.” Then he left.

Max muttered an insult under his breath, then shuffled up against the counter. He glanced at the dried blood. 

“Man, it’s been a while...” The Indian reached over for paper towels. He wetted them then scrubbed the counter until there was no trace of the dried crimson. He threw the dirtied paper away as he heaved a sigh. 

_‘Guess I’m just supposed to go back to my room.’_ The noiret looked through the doorway his father exited earlier. The room was empty, meaning his father was probably in the basement with all his guns. Max shuddered. His father plus guns didn’t equal anything good. 

Max hated guns, to be honest. The fake gun with bubbles back at camp had frightened him even when he knew it was fake.

He walked quickly out of the kitchen and into the foyer. He spotted his mother upstairs doing what he assumed to be laundry. He trekked up the stairs, trying to ignore his mother.

“You’re out of your room.”

Max paused. “ _Pita_ called me to do something.”

Alisha hummed. Max assumed that meant he was free to go. He walked past a few rooms to his own. Once he was in, he breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t gotten hit.

 _‘Not yet, anyway.’_ Max flopped onto his bed, making sure he didn’t hit his wound. He seized his phone and saw he had fifty-two messages. Green eyes skimmed through bubbles of words. He picked up that Neil’s dad had asked him about Candy. 

Max typed out a message, a devious grin painting his lips. 

**imagine u two as stepsiblings**

**…**

_**Not Delivered** _

“Motherfucker!” It was a whisper-shout. 

A knock at his door. “भाषा।”

“...माफ़ करो मां।"

Max turned his attention back to his phone. Why was it acting up again? Was this normal? It never happened when he texted his family members. Was texting friends just… different? 

“No… it…” Max brought a hand to his forehead. Maybe it was different.

* * *

**September 5th, 2016 (6:00 AM)**

Max shot up in his bed, the loud blaring of an alarm filling his ears. Tired eyes searched his area, spotting an alarm clock sitting where the framed photo of the gang used to be. He fumbled with it, trying to figure out which button was what. He decided to try his luck and press the largest button. 

It went silent. 

Max sighed in relief as the sound disappeared. He observed the clock, seeing that he only clicked the snooze button, and clicked a few other buttons in an effort to turn the entire thing off.

A little note was on his nightstand.

_Be ready by 7._

Max grunted. “School” started today. He checked his phone, seeing a message from Neil.

**Dorkass: Do you know if you’re going to our school?**

Max tried his luck.

**i don’t think i am**

It sent. 

**Dorkass: Oh.**

**Dorkass: Well, I hope we can hang out on breaks.**

**me too**

And he meant that. 

Max exited his room. He could hear someone down the hall and another person downstairs. He didn’t bother to decipher who was who. He hesitantly entered his bathroom. He didn’t have good memories here. 

_Small hands picked at black grout between ceramic tiles._

_He’d been in here for… over twelve hours, maybe? It was probably the middle of the night, evident by the faint chirping of crickets. His parents stuffed him in there so they could go to a dinner. They were supposed to be back by midnight, but Max had a feeling it was way past that._

When his parents _did_ finally return, they didn’t let him out. Max had to bust the door open. It was almost six in the morning and his parents were passed out drunk on the couch. 

Max got in a shit ton of trouble for the broken lock and was forced to fix it. 

_‘Jokes on them. More inventive skills for me’._ He was still somewhat proud of that Rube Goldberg machine he had created back at camp.

He brushed his teeth, not bothering to eat breakfast. What was the point of eating with his parents at home? His mother would shame him. That’s why he never ate much. 

Well, that and his father didn’t allow him to eat when he wanted.

_“Well don’t just look at it. Eat up, ya little shit!”_

Even if the food was absolute shit, Max liked that he was at least being fed. Didn’t mean he ate the quartermaster’s crap potatoes, though.

Max quickly washed his hands and bounced out of the bathroom back to his own bedroom. He flung open his closet, pulling out the first thing; a thin dark red long-sleeved shirt. He pulled a plain pair of jeans and simple white socks out of a drawer then trekked back to the bathroom. Max shut the door and locked it behind him. He put his clothes on a shelf next to the door and moved to the shower. He slid the glass door open and turned the knob. 

His hand lingered under the water for a while, waiting for it to get hot. Once he was satisfied, he began taking off his own clothes. It’d been a while since he had an actual good shower. The showers at camp sucked ass. 

As he was washing his hair, his hands gingerly touched his head wound. There was probably a bruise there since there was a mild pain everytime he laid down or touched it. Max made sure to be careful around that area, not wanting to cause anymore potential harm to his head. 

When he was done, it was a quarter to seven. Max quickly dried his body off with a towel on another shelf and tugged the clean fabrics onto himself. _‘No time to dry this trainwreck…’_ Max thought bitterly as he looked at his curls in the mirror.

 _“Ugh-_ seriously, _Nikki?” Max rubbed at his face with his sleeve. The girl had splashed him with the lake water._

_“Come on, Max!” Nikki snorted. “The water’s nice!”_

_Nerris joined in. “Yeah, take off that hoodie and have fun for once!”_

_“Dumbasses.” Max mumbled under his breath. He knew he couldn’t blame them though. It’s not like they knew he couldn’t swim._

_The noiret looked down from where he was. He was on the edge of the dock wearing swim trunks and his hoodie- camp shirt removed._

_“They’re right.” Neil, who was the only person who knew of Max’s predicament, spoke from beside him. “You should get in with us.”_

_Max glared at him. Bastard knew what he was doing._

_“At least touch the water.”_

_Max caved in_. ‘The things you do for a crush.’ _He sat on the dock, his bare feet getting submerged in the cool water. “There. Happy?”_

_Neil hummed. “Mm… no.”_

_The younger male groaned. “What? What do you wan- JESUS FU-!” Before Max knew it, Neil had grabbed Max by the wrist and pulled him into the water. Max’s instincts kicked in and he had his eyes squeezed shut along with holding his breath. He could feel himself break through the surface- as well as some hands between his waist and hips. His instincts were still in affect, though._

_It took a minute until he registered someone saying his name. “-ax? Max?”_

_Max popped an eye open and saw he was mere inches from Neil, who wore a bright smile._

_“You asshole!” Max shoved the nerd. Not too hard though, since he was the only thing keeping Max from drowning._

_Neil chuckled. “You should probably take this off.” He tugged on Max’s drenched top._

_“I wouldn’t have to if someone didn’t fucking pull me into the water!” Nonetheless, Max began to peel the hoodie off and tossed it onto the dock._

_Neil loosened his grip on Max, and Max in turn clung onto his arm for dear life. “Relax, I’m not gonna let go. I’m not_ that _mean.” He softly whispered so no one else would hear him._

 _“You better fucking not ‘cause if I drown, I’m haunting you first.” Max tensed as his torso went further into the water. He relaxed a bit when he remembered Neil’s hand on him, making sure he didn’t go under_.

Max ran a hand through his hair. 

_“Shit.” Max hissed. He looked over at Neil, who was wide awake. “Did I wake you up?”_

_“No.”_ ‘Oh. Was I tossing and turning? Did that wake him up?’ _“No, you didn’t.” The taller male swung his legs over the side of his cot. “Wanna talk about it?”_

_Max tensed. “No.” Neil doesn’t need to know about his problems._

_“It’s healthy to-”_

_He didn’t want to be a bother. “I don’t fucking give a shit, Neil.” That… could’ve been nicer. After a beat of silence, Neil finally spoke. “Mine or yours?”_

‘So he wasn’t mad over what I said?’ _“Yours.” Almost eagerly, Max stood from his cot, Mr. Honeynuts in one hand and his thin blanket in the other. He dragged both to the brunet’s side of the tent as Neil pulled himself back onto his cot. Max climbed in, the two facing one another. The noiret hugged Mr. Honeynuts as close to his chest as possible. He shut his eyes, feeling fingers begin to comb through his black curls._

_“This is what… the fifth time?”_

_“I think so.” Max dug his face into his bear in a desperate attempt to hide the blush that creeped onto his face. It was dark, so Neil wouldn't see anyway, but Max didn’t want to take chances. “Probably won’t be the last.”_

_“...if I’m not awake when you have a nightmare, you can always just lay next to me, you know that, right? I won’t question it.”_

_As much as Max would love to do that… he didn’t want to be an issue. His face heated more at the offer. He buried himself behind the bear further. “No, ‘s okay.”_

_Max eventually fell asleep to the feeling of Neil’s digits caressing his head. It was a nice feeling. Max wished he could feel it more._

Max shook his head, small droplets of water flying everywhere in the process. He walked out of the bathroom and eyed the time. Ten minutes left.

What did he need? Did he need normal school stuff or…? 

Whatever. He’d find out one way or another.

At two minutes before seven, Max trudged down the stairs. Textbooks were stacked against each other in the foyer. 

“Hurry up, Maximus.” Alisha reprimanded from behind, causing Max to almost trip down the stairs. He let his mother pass, his mind lingering on the fact that she addressed him by his full name. Not “Max”, not “Maxy”, and not ” _bachcha_ ”. It unsettled him a bit. She never… 

“ _Maximus_.” 

“Y-Yeah, I… I’m coming.” Max breathed for a moment, taking in the reality of being homeschooled. He shook his head and continued down the stairs.

Alisha was moving about, sorting the books. She only stopped to glare at Max. “Am I supposed to be doing this alone?”

“I…” Max fiddled with his thumbs. “Guess not…” The boy picked up the last two books and followed his mother down a hall and into a study room. Max looked around the place, being semi-impressed with the decorating since, one, it looked like the rest of the house, and two, he had never been in this room. He observed his mother put the books onto a shelf. Max copied what she did.

“So…” Max started as he glanced back at the walls. “Is this like… a classroom or something?”

Alisha didn’t respond. 

_‘That’s normal.’_ The noiret actually smiled a bit. His mother was always a bit of a puzzle to him. She definitely gave Max more attention than his father, but she did still ignore him at times. She acted like she cared but Max was smarter than that. He knew how she felt about him. Woman couldn’t keep her voice down when she was ranting to her friends about how useless and problematic her son was.

“For the first eight hours, you’ll be with me. We’ll be covering normal school things like math and history.” Alisha turned to Max. “From two to five you will be with your _pita_ doing the behavior course we’ve created. If you fail any parts of it, you will be punished. And any failure here with me will result in more difficult assignments with your _pita_. Do you understand?”

_‘Oh… shit.’_ He slowly nodded his head.

“You don’t look happy.”

_‘I’m not.’_ “No, no, I… it’s fine. I can work with that.”

“Good.” She patted his head. “You don’t have a choice.”

Isn’t this going to be a disaster?

* * *

**(4:58 PM)**

It wasn’t too bad so far. He understood most everything and he figured if he didn’t he could just ask Neil when the texts worked. 

His mother had laid out the plan for the year. For Math, exponents, square roots, perimeter, area, graphing… things Max had already taught himself in his years or surfing the Internet. Math should be easy. 

In terms of Language Arts, Max’s mother was more focused on the English language than actual reading skills. Max supposed she figured he was educated enough in the subject itself and, well, she wasn’t wrong. She also wanted to check on his Hindi, which Max was sure he was fine on. It wasn’t like it was his first language or anything. 

With History, Alisha was just going to leave Max with the books and give him a quiz at the end of the week. Max hoped her own beliefs and such wouldn’t affect him.

And then there was Science. Things like how a cell works and hereditary traits were some of the stuff listed that he’d be learning. Maybe listening to all of Neil’s science rants would pay off in the end.

_“So… you eat food and that gives you energy?” Space Kid questioned, sitting opposite of Neil. The boy had began spouting questions with false answers and it had been driving the science geek insane to the point where he sat the space lover down and started lecturing him. Max sat next to him, pretending to be busy on David’s phone._

_“Yes. The carbohydrates in the food you eat turns into glucose. Your sto-”_

_“What’s a carbohy...dra...ah…”_

_“Carbohydrate. It’s sugars and starches. Anyway-”_

_"What's a starch?"_

_Neil audibly groaned. “Oh, we’re going to be here for days.”_

_Max put the phone down and leaned on Neil’s shoulder. “Look on the bright side, at least he’ll be smarter.”_

_Neil glared at him. “It’s Space Kid. No he won’t. And ‘bright side’? Who are you and what have you done with Max?”_

_“Hey, you keep saying to look on the bright side and I am.” He shrugged. “And you don’t know. Maybe his head will finally become too big for that fish bowl since you filled him with your knowledge.”_

_“Please do not phrase it like that.”_

_Max smacked him upside the head. “Not my fault you got a dirty mind.”_

_“I do not!”_

_“Did you hear yourself literally a second ago?”_

The boy was pulled out of his thoughts when the door to the study flung open. Max whipped his head around to see his father standing in the doorway. 

“Come with me.”

Max blinked, then hesitantly slid out of his chair. His father took him up the stairs and into what used to be a storage room. Max’s father had been in here a lot recently. Now Max knew why. 

“Let’s begin.”

_‘Just getting to it, huh?’_

“You’re at a dinner and you knock over a glass of water. What do you do?”

“Uh… apologize and clean it up.”

Sai nodded. “You ignore when a person of authority is trying to speak to you. What do you do?”

Max thought for a moment. “Uh...” He should probably say what his father wanted to hear, right? “You should probably listen to them and-”

“That answer is adequate.” Sai cut his son off. “Now, the authority figure is asking you to do something. Do you agree to do it or refuse the request?”

“Well, it depends on what it is that they wa-”

His father smacked him. “Incorrect. You should do what they desire, no matter what.”

 _‘So this is what_ maan _meant by a punishment…’_ Max’s hand lightly touched his cheek. Could he get bruised by getting slapped? Probably. “If I’m uncomfortable doing what they want, then I don’t have to do it. That’s basically like a person having to sleep with their spouse despite not wanting to. They have a right to their own body, y’know.”

“That’s adults.” Sai held his fingertips together. “ _You_ , however, must obey our commands no matter what they are.” He stepped forward and swifty wrapped his fist around Max’s neck, squeezing gently. " _Your_ maan _and I_ own _you. We gave life to you. You are obliged to follow our every word._ ”

Max didn’t know when to stop. “You say that as if I asked to be born!”

Sai’s hand tightened around his neck. “ _Then you won’t have a problem with me taking you out, hm?_ ” Max could feel the air being taken away from him. 

The child’s eyes widened. “N-No, no! I… I’m… sorry. I’ll…” He didn’t mean it, of course, but whatever to please his parents for the moment. “I’ll listen.” Three, hell, even _two_ months ago he would’ve taken his father up on the offer.

“Good.” Sai let go. Max rubbed at his neck. “Let’s continue.”

Max barely heard what his father said. His mind was too focused on what had occurred in the moments before. The worst his father ever did was hit him until he had bruises painting his body. _Never had he almost strangled the boy._

Max knew that if he ever did die, suicide or not, he didn’t want to go by strangulation. He’d rather drown.

In the middle of his thoughts, Max got smacked again. 

“Pay attention.” His father scolded.

“S-Sorry.”

Another hit. 

“Stop apologizing. It makes you weak.”

He’d take getting hit over getting strangled any day.

* * *

**September 16th, 2016 (9:51 PM)**

Max cradled Mr. Honeynuts close. Today was probably his worst day yet. None of his texts went through, his mother decided to give him a quiz for every single subject, and his father chose a… different type of behavior course.

Max gently rubbed his right eye, just over a forming bruise. His father decided that every other Friday, he’d have a “training day” where he’d “teach” Max how to fight properly. Max knew what it actually was from the start; a flat out excuse to beat the shit out of his son. He got hit harder if he fought back. What was the fucking point? He was a straight up punching bag. A training dummy. A worthless sack of nothing. Didn’t help with the things his father said either, calling him slurs and taunting him. 

The boy so badly wanted to scream “fuck you” at him. 

But he didn’t. He held his tongue. He had started doing that since that first day where his father grabbed him by the neck. 

_“Fight back you little shit!”_

_So Max did._

_And his father punched harder._

Max had a suspicion that his parents were trying to get him to act out. They had begun to purposely do things that surely piss Max off. And they did, don’t get him wrong. They very much did. His mother started ranting about her beliefs that completely went against Max’s and his father called him names. 

Max refused to give them what they wanted.

From under his eyelashes, Max managed to see his phone light up. He squinted at it, seeing that Neil had texted him.

**Dorkass: Hey, I still have that doll of yours. When do you think I can get it back to you?**

Max bit his lip, thinking. He wasn’t allowed out of the house on the weekdays and with all the marks that were starting to appear on his frame, he wasn’t sure if he even _wanted_ Neil to see him.

**i’m not sure**

Max smiled as the message finally sent. 

**Dorkass: I’m pretty much free all weekend.**

The Indian hesitated when answering. 

**i don’t think i can do this weekend**

**Dorkass: Oh, okay.**

Why did “oh, okay” sting?

 **Dorkass: Just tell me when you want to meet up. I’m kind of dying to hang out again. I miss you.**

Max’s face lit up with red. _‘He’s thinking of me.’_ He shook his head. _‘No he isn’t… well… maybe?’_

**lol i miss u too dork**

**Dorkass: It’s late. Text you tomorrow?**

Max glanced at the ceiling. 

**yea**

**text u tmrw**

He wanted to stay true to his word. 

Max turned the device off and put it back on his nightstand. He turned over, pulling his bear as close as possible to him, and waited for sleep to overtake him.

* * *

**September 17th, 2016 (12:02 PM)**

**Dorkass: Candy called my dad. I seriously think they might hook up.**

**damn sucks to be u**

**...**

**_Not Delivered_ **

Max sighed. He tried again.

**damn sucks to be u**

**…**

**_Not Delivered_ **

The text refused to send.

**really? that sucks**

**…**

**_Not Delivered_ **

Max set his phone face-down on his bed. He ran his hands through his hair. Maybe he just needed a new phone? Maybe that was the problem. Or maybe that Internet was just shit? Or it’s his data? Maybe service?

Neil- and Nikki sometimes- had been requesting phone calls and video chats. Max didn’t want to do either. He didn’t want them seeing him like that. He couldn’t allow them to get suspicious. He couldn’t afford to lose them. 

He thought about covering up the bruises with makeup, but then he remembered he’d have to ask his mother to borrow hers. If he asked, he’d be questioned. No matter what excuse Max had he knew his mother wouldn’t believe him. She’d know. He’d lose everyone.

The idea of buying his own came up, but he didn't know his color. He didn’t know shit about makeup. All he knew was how it felt on his face from incidents prior to the summer. It wasn’t a feeling he liked, but he’d gotten accustomed to it.

He considered phone calls. However, one, his parents would hear him talking. Two, his vocal chords were fucked at the moment.

Speaking of… Max exited his room and entered his bathroom. He closed the door behind him and flipped the light on. Max tilted his head up, his finger dancing over the fading purple marks on his neck. They were barely visible, but they were still there. 

He brought his head down, now leaning forward and examining his eye. It wasn’t the worst black eye he’d ever had. That didn’t mean it looked good though.

It was starting to swell. Max hated it when it swelled. He poked at it, as if it’d go away.

It didn’t. Go figure.

Max let his head hang. He sighed. 

_‘I hate this.’_

* * *

**September 19th, 2016 (8:37 PM)**

**Dorkass: Nikki said her mom “went on a date”.**

**Dorkass: Dude, it was my dad.**

**Dorkass: They’re going to date.**

Max smirked.

**does that mean u and nik will be siblings**

**Dorkass: I don’t know honestly.**

**Dorkass: I hope not.**

**Dorkass: I don’t want to deal with her every single day.**

**Dorkass: But, like, I want my dad to be happy, you know?**

**i guess**

**…**

_**Not Delivered**_

“Seriously?” Max grumbled, slouching on his bed.

**Dorkass: It’s pretty obvious that the guy’s lonely.**

**Dorkass: He tries to bond with me or whatever, but he does a shit job at it.**

**Dorkass: It wouldn’t be bad if he had someone to spend his days with, right?**

**Dorkass: I don’t know.**

**Dorkass: Should I be nicer to my dad? Like, actually try to spend time with him even though I don’t want to.**

**Dorkass: What should I do? I mean, he’s my dad. I can’t just… pretend he’s not there.**

Max’s fingers moved on their own. 

**i think u should at least try to be with him more. if he makes u overly uncomfy/annoying tho don’t feel bad abt distancing urself. ur not obligated to spend time with him just bc he’s ur dad.**

**…**

**_Not Delivered._ **

_‘Fuck.’_

**Dorkass: You there?**

_‘I’m here.’_

**Dorkass: Forget I said anything. I’m sorry for dumping my problems on you. Talk to you tomorrow?**

**wait**

**…**

**_Not Delivered_ **

**Dorkass: Okay.**

It only took four seconds until his phone was launched across the dark room, hitting the wall with a loud bang.

* * *

**September 24th, 2016 (1:09 AM)**

**_Not Delivered_ **

_**Not Delivered** _

_**Not Delivered** _

_**Not Delivered** _

_**Not Delivered** _

He screamed in frustration. 

Nothing was sending anymore. 

He’d noticed how everyone had made remarks about him fading out. How he stopped responding. 

But he wanted to.

He was _trying_ to, for fucks sake.

“School” wasn’t any better. Max was sporting another bundle of bruises on his arm. That was nice.

Max left his room, his phone grasped tightly in his hand. He shuffled down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom, his eyes focusing on the front doors. 

His parents weren’t home.

Max blinked, an idea rushing into his head. He scrambled into the hall, almost slipping when he grabbed onto the doorknob of a closet. The doors opened and Max grabbed around for a thin jacket and sneakers and hurriedly tugged them on. He raced back to the front door and sped out, his feet slamming onto grey bricks. Max hopped over the fence again.

He was out.

Max ran down the driveway, already having a place in mind. After a couple moments, Max found himself in the city. A few people lined the streets, but none paid attention to Max. He swerved through a few alleyways, having been through here countless times before. Soon, the noiret was in a small wooded area. He found a tree that had a small hollow spot at the bottom and carefully crouched into it. He leaned against the back, breathing in heavily. It reminded him of camp. 

Oddly enough, he felt at home. This was a spot his grandmother would always take him. His cats loved to sit at the bottom of the tree with him and would always chase the birds that resided within the other trees. 

And it also reminded him of camp.

He thought he’d hate the scent of trees- nature, really, but he was dead wrong. Where he lived, in the city, the air was just the embodiment of _dirty_. The atmosphere was grey, the whole city felt robotic and dead, and there wasn’t a speck of natural green in sight. It was kind of funny to him how ten years of his life felt out of place compared to three months. Almost like he was never meant to be in the city.

Max tapped on his phone button, making it light up. 

**Dumbass: Neil told me u left him on read**

**Dumbass: R u ok**

**Dumbass: Cuz uv been kinda hush lately**

**sorry, my phone’s been acting up a lot lately. i’m not trying to ignore you.**

**…**

_**Not Delivered** _

Why did he even bother trying?

**Dumbass: Did we do something**

**Dumbass: ?**

**Dumbass: Are u mad at us**

**Dumbass: ?**

“No, I’m not…” Max mumbled, staring desperately at the digital keyboard. 

**Dumbass: Max?**

**Dumbass: Talk to u tmrw?**

**yes**

**…**

**_Not Delivered_ **

And Nikki was gone.

The noiret let his head fall back against the bark. He thought about every single comment about his supposed disappearance. The remarks. He knew some of the kids were thinking he was purposely avoiding them. He wasn’t. He hoped Neil and Nikki wouldn’t believe them. He hoped they would realize something was wrong.

But at the same time he hoped they didn’t. For their safety.

What a shitshow this was.

* * *

**October 7th, 2016 (8:01 PM)**

**Ms. Magic: He was lame**

**Ms. Magic: Idk what my parents were thinking**

**Dorkass: That’s the lesson, don’t meet your cousins.**

**BeepBeepBitchYou’reGay: really dont**

**Mind Freaker: What’s so bad about yours?**

**BeepBeepBitchYou’reGay: well one they hate me**

**BeepBeepBitchYou’reGay: two they treat me diff bc im adopted**

**BeepBeepBitchYou’reGay: three im gay and theyre homophobic**

**Dumbass: Petition to commit arson and burn Ereds cousins**

**BeepBeepBitchYou’reGay: signed**

**Ms. Magic: I like chaos so signed**

**Mind Freaker: Why not**

**Mind Freaker: Signed**

**BadShakespeare: SIGNED!!! I can make a play out of it!!!**

**Dumbass: Neil?**

**Dorkass: What.**

**Dumbass: Are u gonna sign the petition**

**Dorkass: …**

**Dorkass: Fine. Signed.**

**Dumbass: HAA YES**

**Dumbass: Harrison u should use ur magic**

**Mind Freaker: I can do that**

**Ms. Magic: Where do ur cousins live ?**

**BeepBeepBitchYou’reGay: i can send map directions**

Max looked away from his phone. He had stopped trying to reply ages ago. What was the point? Nothing was working anyway.

He rubbed at his upper right arm, feeling the skin that was a different color than the rest of his body. “School” wasn’t getting easier, but it wasn’t exactly getting harder. It was just becoming unfair. The punishments were unfair. He gets one thing wrong and suddenly he’s getting verbally berated or hit until purple covered him. 

Shit sucked.

* * *

**October 24th, 2016 (6:21 AM)**

Max dabbed rubbing alcohol on his hand. He bit his tongue to silence himself as it burned against the cut. At least he got the glass cleaned up before his parents noticed the broken vase. 

...hopefully they didn’t notice.

Max could only imagine what they’d do to him.

* * *

**December 25th, 2016 (4:16 PM)**

It wasn’t so bad. 

The boy sat on the windowsill in the study. His parents were hosting a dinner party at their house, so Max was told to avoid interacting with the guests. What better way to do that than to just avoid the guests all together?

He was bored though. There wasn’t much to do in a study other than work and he didn’t have any of that to do.

He knew soon enough his parents would call him out to unwrap gifts.

The makeup on his face was bothering the shit out of him though. He had told his parents that him having a bruise on his face was their fault, but somehow, someway, they managed to twist it around that it was his fault. And he believed them. For a while, anyway. He wasn’t surprised.

A knock was at the door. 

“Well, let’s meet the family.” Max sighed and slid off the sill, then exited the room. He could hear conversations taking place down the hall. He followed the voices.

“Maximus!” A woman cheered. _‘Aunt Farzana._ Maan’s _youngest sister.’_

A thin woman with short curly black hair bounded towards him, scooping him up in a tight hug when she reached him. Max allowed himself to enjoy the embrace, as it felt warm and full of genuine love. The hug was over as soon as it started, though. 

“Oh! Look at how you’ve grown! I haven’t seen you since you were four!” She adjusted her dark red butterfly glasses. 

Max awkwardly laughed. “Yeah… you haven’t…” He barely remembered her. 

In fact… he distinctly remembered her being pre-

“Mama?”

Max peered around his aunt to see a girl a few inches shorter than he was. Her hair was shoulder-length and she wore a long-sleeved frilly black dress. 

“Ah! Maximus, meet Pratyusha! Pratie, this is your older cousin Maximus.” She pushed her daughter in front of her. 

The kids stared at each other for a moment; mountain meadow green and faded blue.

“I… uh…” She shuffled. “Nice to meet you.” She quietly mumbled.

_‘The shy type, huh?’_ “You too.” Max stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Pratyusha turned around, following her mother to the long dinner table. Max approached it, easily being able to recognize his older family members despite not seeing them for a long time. He saw his _maan’s_ other sister, Ela, and her husband Chatura. A boy and a girl were seated next to them, both seemingly younger than Max. _‘Probably their kids.’_

He spotted his _chaachee_ Rosh and her daughter Zoya- or Zoey, as she preferred by those closest to her. Max knew Zoey since he was a baby. She was probably the oldest child here. 

She saw him and waved. Max waved back. Then she waved him over and Max walked to her.

“How’s life with those two been?” Zoey was smart. She knew how shitty Max’s parents actually were but she also knew not to get involved. For her own safety, Max reasoned. 

“Terrible.” Max contemplated pulling his sleeve up to show the fresh marks. “They’re homeschooling me.”

Zoey gaped. “Seriously? I thought they… why keep you around?”

Max shrugged. “Beats me.” _‘Literally.’_

Zoey leaned back in her chair, her legs crossing. “How was that summer camp?”

Max perked up. “It was fine, actually.”

“Really? How were the people?”

Max opened his mouth, about to basically gush about his friends, but then he remembered where he was. “I… after the dinner and the gift unwrap.”

Zoey nodded, understanding. “I got you that collection of Shiba Inu plushies you wanted.”

“Holy sh-” He cut himself off. “You did?”

“Yeah. All twenty-five.” She picked at her black nails. “I hid it in the hallway, though. I don’t want our cousins to make fun of you more than they’re going to, you know?”

A brow quirked. “What’s the public gift then?”

“Some candy.”

“Some?”

“Mm…” She glanced over at the corner of gifts piled on top of each other. “A _lot_. It’s the dark blue one.”

“It better be the good stuff.”

“Pfft. What kind of cousin would I be if it wasn’t?”

Max shrugged again and the two continued their conversation. Through dinner, Max had learned that his cousin had a boyfriend, one that her mom would approve of, but not the rest of the family would. She promised to show him pictures of them together after the unwrapping. 

A few minutes after dinner, gifts started being handed out. Everyone had at least five gifts, one from each family. Most gifts for Max were small, as no one really knew him. He doubted they cared, though.

He’d gotten a shit ton of candy from Zoey and Rosh. Farzana and Falan had actually gotten him a bunch of short soft sweaters that he wasn’t sure if he’d like. His parents didn’t. _‘Let’s just… hide these…’_ Ela and Chatura got him a piano book. That he already had. Oh well. He could give it to Zoey. 

His parents gave him… a… blue hoodie. Identical to the three others in his closet.

Hooray.

Zoey leaned over. “Don’t you-?”

“Yep.” Max replied with no emotion in his face. Either they didn’t know his interests or they didn’t care. It was probably both. He’d made the same assumption when he got a hoodie during camp.

“Ouch.”

“Mhm.”

* * *

**(6:56 PM)**

“I’m never letting this go.” Max hugged the small plushie to his chest. 

“I’m glad you like it.” Zoey pulled her windsor purple beanie off, her straightened black hair falling. She ran a hand through it. “Now, about that camp… I heard the founder of that place was arrested.”

“Campbell.” Max hummed. “He turned himself in and was put on community service. He’s… an alright guy, I guess.”

Zoey nodded. “Was it boring?”

“I…” Max tightened his grip on the dog, thinking. “Yes and no.” He glanced at the door as if someone was on the other side, listening in. “I met these two kids. Neil and Nikki.” God, he missed them. “They were…” He huffed out a laugh. “We caused so much chaos. Something was set on fire almost every day. You’d think David and Gwen hated us, but… they didn’t.”

“Who’s…?”

“The counselors. David’s this optimistic dumbass. Heart of gold. Loves nature so much I wouldn’t be surprised if he fucked trees.”

Zoey laughed at that.

“Gwen was a lot less optimistic. Kind of a bitch. But not the bad kind of bitch, y’know?”

“Like Ava?”

“No.” Max immediately said. “Not like Ava. God, nothing like her.” He leaned back. “Well, except the moody part. But even that’s kinda… eh.” The boy thought about Ava, one of Zoey’’s ex-childhood friends. Blonde girl, bright blue eyes. Super sweet. 

Until she wasn’t.

Wrong crowd. 

Zoey started to take her jacket off. “So about Neil and Nikki?”

“Right,” Max looked over at his drawer. “Oh, hold on.” He walked over to it and opened it up, taking the framed photo out. He smiled at it. 

“Here.” He handed it to his cousin.

“Who’s who?”

Max pointed at the two kids who were standing next to him. “That’s Neil and that’s Nikki.”

“She’s got green-?”

“Yep. It’s natural.”

“Huh.” Her finger tapped on David. “That David?”

“Uh huh. What gave it away? The smile?”

“He’s radiating pure happiness. It’s sickening.”

Max smiled. “He’s happiness in human form.”

“I hate him.”

“I did too.”

Zoey put the photo down. “Did?”

Max propped a leg up. “He… he and Gwen. They both… they both know about… the neglect.”

“Holy shit- they do? You told them?”

“I didn’t. Well, not explicitly. David made a day a ‘Parents’ Day. It was so the parents could come to the camp to check in with their kids. Who do you think was the only one without any type of guardian?”

“You?”

Max nodded. “Campbell, in order to evade the police, made us do a show showing off what we learned with our camps. Thing is… I didn’t have one. Since my parents didn’t show up, David and Gwen had to pretend to be my parents, so they had to do the show with me. But neither of them knew my camp and I wouldn’t tell them. So… he had Gwen go get my paperwork and found out that I wasn’t even signed up for a camp.”

Zoey cocked her head. “How did you not have a camp? Isn’t the camp a… well, camp?”

“Camp Campbell was a scam.” Max explained. “Everyone- except Harrison and Nerris- had a different activity. Neil was science, Nikki was adventure, Ered was extreme sports, Nurf behaviour correction… you get the point.”

“Like a-”

Max cut her off. “Camp camp? Yeah, pretty much. But it was… fun. And a lot of crazy shit happened.” He played memories in his head. “I was almost murdered by a cult leader three times.” 

“What?!”

“First time by poison, second by neck slit, and third by sacrifice.”

“You- I- where’s he now?”

“Either in Antarctica or on his way there.”

“Was he… arrested or something??”

“Uh… first two times, yeah. But he should be gone now, so I’m not worried.”

Zoey glanced at her cousin, then slowly picked the photo back up. “Uh… alright… um… what about Neil and Nikki?”

“Nikki’s animalistic. Really… wild. But she also likes politics, I think? She’s loyal. Kind of naive. We played detective a lot.”

“Sounds like a nice gal. What about Neil?”

“Smart.” Max blurted. “We were tent mates.” He fiddled with his thumbs. Despite not talking to the kid in almost four months, his feelings were still there. “We always went off on our own and did whatever.” He tried to suppress the blush creeping up onto his face. “He can be kind of an asshole but he’s really kind and… sweet, I guess. He… he probably knows the most about me.” He watched as the girl stared at the photo, holding it close to her face. “He was also kinda my moral compass, in a way.”

Zoey pulled herself away from the picture. “You sound like you were _close_.” She gave him a knowing look and smirk.

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything!” Zoey put her hands up in defense. “But… maybe I’m not the only one with a boyfriend...?”

Jones blushed furiously. “He is not-!” He inhaled in, then exhaled. “He’s not. I just… I… y’know…”

“You _like_ him?” She moved so she was shoulder-to-shoulder with Max. 

“Maybe.” Max mumbled. 

“That’s adorable.” She hummed, then smiled warmly at him. “I see you’ve accepted yourself, huh?” Zoey always knew Max was gay. She always supported him, even throughout his denial. 

Max relented. “Yeah.” He leaned into Zoey’s shoulder. “And, yeah, fine. I do like him.”

“Can I meet them?”

“Wish you could.” Max sighed. “I haven’t spoken to them since September.”

“What? Why not?”

Max glanced at his phone. “The texts broke. Mine stopped going through and now theirs are all choppy.”

“That sucks.”

“It does. They all think I abandoned them!”

“Even Neil? And Nikki?”

“I think they’re on the fence. But if this shit doesn’t get fixed, they probably will!”

Zoey frowned. “Don’t they think something’s wrong? You said you and Neil were close. You’d think he’d assume there was something up.”

Max shrugged. “I don’t know. I think they’re still trying to text me, but I just… I don’t know.”

Zoey put her arm around Max in a half-hug. “Maybe you can try to contact them some other way? Do you know where any of them live?”

“No.”

“Do you know if they have social media?”

“No.”

“Email?”

“No.”

“...what if you tried going out in public to find them?”

“Neil and Nikki don’t live in the city.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

* * *

**December 31st, 2016 (11:59 PM)**

“Five…”

“Four…”

“Three…”

“Two…”

“One…”

Send. 

**happy new year.**

_‘Shit- holy shit- it sent-’_

Max almost dropped his phone as “read” appeared in the corner. He’d texted the group chat with Neil and Nikki in it, just as a little comfort for himself. He didn’t expect it to send. 

**Dorkass: Max?**

**Dumbass: Omg max hi!!!!! i miss u!!!**

**Dorkass: Are you okay?**

**no i’m not**

**…**

_**Not Delivered**_

Because of course. Max silenced his phone and turned it over. He didn’t bother to try. There was no point anymore.

* * *

**June 17th, 2017 (7:44 AM)**

This would be fine. Tomorrow, he’d be sent back to camp. He’d see everyone again. He could explain everything. He had proof, the bruises on his body would be enough, right? He could get help, couldn’t he?

Max breathed in, having a little difficulty from almost getting choked out the week prior. He pulled his duffel bag out from underneath his bed and laid it on top, then started to fill it with clothes, including plain yellow shirts he had gotten to make sure he had spares. He threw in the other blue hoodies as well. 

The noiret hesitantly tucked Mr. Honeynuts into the bag, as well as one of the Shiba plushies Zoey had gotten him. He named him Mr. Knightnight (silly and dumb, he knows. But it was one of the few things that made him feel young). 

He decided to add a toothbrush and toothpaste, remembering all the afternoons they spent cleaning the Mess Hall with poor quality brushes. He also added other toiletries since he doubted the camp had improved its hygiene. 

He couldn’t wait to get out of this damn house.

* * *

**(6:12 PM)**

“You’re not going to that camp.”

“What do you mean?” Max stared at his parents in disbelief.

“You’re not going to that camp.” His mother repeated.

“No- why not?!”

“The last time we sent you, you came back rude and began disobeying our every command. To prevent our progress this year from being erased, we’ve decided that you will stay here with us and continue your schooling.”

He was pissed- no, _beyond_ pissed. “That’s bullshit!” 

“भाषा, लड़का।” Sai warned.

At this point, Max didn’t care.

“मैं आप से नफरत!”

“भावना आपसी है।” The man began to approach. Max flinched, but regained his composure. 

"तुम इतना कमबख्त नियंत्रण कर रहे हो!" The boy screamed out. He hated them. He hated them so much. 

“मैं आपको चेतावनी दे रहा हूं। रूक जा।”

“नहीं! मुझे खुश रहने की अनुमति क्यों नहीं है? मेरे पास ऐसा क्यों नहीं हो सकता? यह शिविर इस दुनिया में मेरी खुशी का एकमात्र स्रोत है और आप इसे मुझसे दूर करना चाहते हैं? फक यू! तुम भयानक लोग हो! मैं तुम्हारे साथ एक गर्मी बिताने के बजाय मर जाऊँगा!”

Then his father hit him. 

Not with a slap, but a punch. 

Max fell to the ground, unmoving for a moment. He shifted to get up, but then his father pinned him. The man closed his fist and raised it in the air. Max squeezed his eyes shut, knowing what was coming. 

He wasn’t expecting it to hurt that much though. 

His father seemed to use all his force into it and showed no signs of stopping. He could feel the blood oozing from his nose, but it wasn’t like he could do anything about it. Despite the pain, Max forced himself to think about something else. It was better if he just didn’t focus on the pain. It was always better. 

He thought about camp. He thought about water fights and setting off fireworks in the middle of the night. He thought about bonfires. He thought about guitar music. He thought about everyone. He thought about David. He thought about Gwen. He thought about Nikki. He thought about Neil. 

But then he thought about all the times he hurt them. The times he tried to get David killed or fired. The times he annoyed the shit out of everyone. The times he betrayed Neil and Nikki’s trust. 

Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend. Bad friend.

He didn’t deserve them. Not at all. Why did they stick around? He was a bad person. They should’ve left. 

Max could just barely register his father’s hands wrapping around his neck.

Maybe it was better this way. No, it WILL be better with him gone.

...right?

He blacked out.

* * *

**June 18th, 2017 (1:21 AM)**

There was a beeping sound akin to an alarm, but it wasn’t an alarm. At least, not as far as Max knew. 

His eyes fluttered open and a faint pain was felt. His face hurt and it took him a moment to remember why. He heaved a sigh, then turned to look at his surroundings. It was mostly white and there was a light blue curtain to his right. 

_‘A hospital…’_

Why was he here? Who brought him here? Why would they…?

Max glanced over at a heart monitor, connecting the beeping to that. _‘Annoying.’_

He looked down at his arm and saw the IV. It alarmed him a bit, considering he wasn’t the biggest fan of sharp things piercing his skin, especially after his second encounter with Daniel. 

Max leaned his head back. He was torn between whether or not he was glad to be alive. 

The bed was comfy though.

Comfy as fuck. 

Max contemplated dozing off since he wasn’t sure when someone wo-

The door squeaked open.

 _‘Right when I was about to sleep...’_ Max’s gaze flickered to a short woman with dark blonde hair tied into a bun. 

“You’re awake.” She spoke, clinging onto a clipboard. 

“Guess I am.” His throat hurt.

The nurse handed him a glass with what was probably water. Max didn’t really care. He drank it, then handed it back. He didn’t bother to say “thank you”. 

“How’re you feeling?”

“Like shit.” 

The woman seemed shocked at the kid’s language, then shook her head, dismissing it. “The painkillers should kick in at any moment.”

 _‘Drugs. How neat.’_ Max averted his attention elsewhere.

“What do you remember?”

Max thought for a moment. “...who brought me in?”

“Your parents.”

The noiret had to stop himself from asking “why”. 

_“That’s what happens when you involve others in family business. Don’t do it again.”_

Max swallowed, deciding to answer her question. “I got beat up.”

“By…?”

Max shrugged to the best of his ability. “Dunno. It… happened all at once.”

The nurse scribbled a few things onto a clipboard. “Are you sure that’s what happened?” She seemed skeptical.

“Yes.” It came off more annoyed that he wanted it to be.

The woman made a sound that Max couldn’t quite place, then she left the room. He heard a conversation taking place, the unmistakable voice of his mother being one of the people speaking. 

Eventually, his mother stepped in, her expression instantly changing to a stoic one.

Max audibly groaned. Why was there that small part of him that hoped it’d be David or Gwen? Too hopeful. 

“Beat by a rando? Now, I think we both can agree that you could do better than that.”

“ _Sorry_ , I can’t think straight since my head’s a little screwed right now.” The boy spat. He wasn’t as scared of his mother as he was his father. At least she didn’t hit him.

“And whose fault is that?”

Max’s answer was his father, but he knew the right answer was him. “...mine.”

“That’s right, _bachcha_.”

_‘Aaannnd… there’s the nickname.’_

Alisha moved closer and began caressing her son’s head, her face shifting slightly. “I know you’re upset about not going to that camp,” _‘Understatement of the goddamn century.’_ “but understand that this is better for you. Along with becoming more rude towards us, you’ve also gone a bit soft. I know you can insult somebody better than what you said to your _pita_ earlier.”

“You ‘know’, huh?” Max leaned away from the touch. “ _Please_. You don’t know me at all.”

“Maybe to you we don’t. But as a child, your interests bounce from one thing to another and you never truly know what you really like. Your _pita_ and I know what you like, even if you don’t think we do.” 

Max blinked. Did… they? Did they know his interests? 

…

..no. No they didn’t. _David_ knew his interests. _Neil_ knew his interests. His parents didn’t. Not at all.

...right?

Right. No- maybe?

The matriarch leaned close to her son. “I love you.” She planted a light kiss on his temple.

It was like Max’s body moved on it’s own. He suddenly buried himself into his mother’s grasp, welcoming the feeling of fingers combing through his hair. It was almost like an automatic response. He could hear his mother laugh a little bit and maybe say something else, but Max tuned it out and just focused on the warm feeling of someone who cared.

Even though he knew she didn’t, he was desperate for any kind of love- anyone who cared even just a little bit. Even if it was fake. 

Maybe they were right.

Maybe he’d gone soft. 

Maybe camp really did change him.

* * *

**June 19th, 2017 (8:02 PM)**

Just because camp changed him didn’t mean he didn’t want to go. 

Max peeked out of his room. No one. His parents were at some gathering. He didn’t give a shit where they went. He only cared that they were gone.

He turned back, beginning to look through his bag. The only thing he added were two bottles of concealer to hide the bruises. No one would notice, right? He wasn’t that good at it, but he’d learn. It couldn’t be that hard, could it? It seemed easy enough for Ered.

Max swung the bag over his shoulder. It hurt a bit, but if he made it to camp it’d be worth it. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t signed up; David would let him in in a heartbeat.

The noiret hopped down the stairs. He was rather glad his father went for the face and not the rest of his body. Who knew if he’d even be able to walk?

Without much rush, Max slinked out the house and down the brick path. He reached the gate and prepared himself for the climb. He tried to be more careful when he dropped, not wanting anything to break or himself to get hurt. 

He breathed in. 

He was doing this.

Max scurried down the street as he stared at his phone, the directions to Camp Campbell illuminating his covered features. 

* * *

**June 20th, 2017 (12:02 AM)**

Max leaned against the wall of a closed ice cream parlor. He hadn’t anticipated it being this cold; wasn’t it almost summer?

Well, it was the first day of it now.

“Hey,”

Max glanced up, seeing a dark blue porsche. “Uh… hi?”

“Are you lost?” It was a man. He had sunglasses on his forehead and was wearing some sort of designer jacket. 

_‘A rich guy._ ’ Max figured. “No.”

“Are you sure?” The man eyed the boy. “Y’know, you actually look like a runaway… where’re you goin’ kid?”

“None of your business.”

“How old are you? You look like… ten, maybe.”

“Eleven.” Max turned back to his phone. “Leave me the fuck alone.”

“Feisty, eh?” The man leaned forward, his head sticking out of the window. “I’m Richard.” He stuck his hand out. 

Max looked at the hand, then turned and picked up a discarded McDonald’s drink off the ground. He popped the lid off and poured it into Richard’s hands, whatever non-liquid thing slipping out.

“Ew!”

“I told you to leave me the hell alone.”

Richard pouted. Max wondered how old this guy was. He seemed like he was probably in his early or mid twenties if Max had to take a guess.

Richard propped his elbows on the open window. “You remind me of someone.” 

“Oh really? Who?” 

“Mm… ah!” He snapped his finger. “You remind me of that rich Indian family.”

_‘Well shit.’_

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“The uh… Jones family I think it is…” His eyes narrowed at the boy. “Hey… don’t they have a kid?”

“How should I know?”

“You look like the old man’s wife.”

Max almost laughed. This guy called his father an old man. He knew if his father heard that comment, Richard might just be dead. 

“Well, I don’t know who you’re talking about and honestly what you’re saying is kind of… I don’t know, racist? Just because I’m of Indian heritage doesn’t mean I’m related to whoever the fuck that family is.” He was trying anything to get this guy to stop talking to him.

“No, no,” The man put a hand up defensively. “I’m not trying to say that, I swear. I’m saying that you look like that woman. Green eyes, a soft face, sharp nose… you actually do look a lot like her.”

“Okay, one, can you stop staring at my face? You’re being fuckin’ creepy. Thanks. Second, leave me the fuck alone. I’m just trying to get to camp, goddamn.”

“Camp?”

_‘Fuck.’_

“I heard from my dad that that family sent their kid off to camp… what’s your name?”

“What does it fucking matter to you?”

“Is it Maximus?”

Max paused for a moment. “No.” He collected himself. “That’s a dumb ass name.”

“So what’s your name?”

“I’m not telling you my fucking name.” Max glanced at the time. “Goodbye, fuckin’ weirdo.” He grabbed his bag and turned, not looking back for a second.

* * *

**(3:45 AM)**

“Nice try.” 

Max sat in the back of the car, knees propped against his chest and his bag underneath his seat. 

He should’ve looked back. If he did, he would’ve seen that Richard guy calling his father, who in turn told Max’s parents. 

And here he was in the backseat of the limo with his mother while his father was driving. 

He was angry. At everyone and everything, really.

“I give you credit for doing it while we were away.” His mother hummed. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Mhm.” Max wondered if he could just hop out and run. 

_‘That’s stupid. Fast car, slow kid, dumbass.’_

“But there will be consequences for this.” Yeah, he knew. “Your _pita_ and I will discuss what we’ll do.” Max could see the house coming into view. “I want you to go to your room and not come out until we decide, alright?”

“Whatever.” Max sighed, his head bouncing with the vehicle.

Once they were parked, Max spared no time darting up the stairs and into his room.

He’d just try again.

He’d get there one day, right?

* * *

**July 1st, 2017 (10:14 PM)**

_‘Ithurtsithurtsithurtshurtsithurtsithurtshurtsithurtsithurtshurtsithurtsithurts-’_

Max was trying his best to breathe, but that was difficult when there was a hand around his neck. He hadn’t recovered completely from the last time he was beat, so everything hurt as hell.

“Face it, Maximus. You’re not going to that camp.”

No. He was going to get there. This was his eleventh attempt in the last few days. He was going to see his friends again. He was going to see David and Gwen again. Even if it was only for one last summer. They’d protect him until then.

“N-No!” Max choked out. 

His father grunted. “Why do you care so much anyway?” He pulled on his arm. “It was a shitty camp with even shittier people in it. The camp was run by a goddamn criminal!”

“You’re wrong!” Max screamed, a little angry at how his father described things even though it was mostly true. He managed to push himself out of Sai’s hold. “They weren’t sh- _bad_ people!”

“Really? How?”

“Because unlike _you_ , they actually cared about me! They wanted to get to know me and were there for me no matter how much of a lit- _brat_ I was being! David never _once_ hit me to punish me! He gave me a verbal warning or talking at worst.”

“Sounds to me like he doesn't know how to treat children when they misbehave.” The patriarch approached slowly. Max backed up against the wall. His green eyes watched his father’s hands, preparing himself for whatever the man was going to do. 

In a blur of a moment, his father’s fist flung forward.

Max barely dodged it. 

“Fuckin’ brat…” His father muttered as he turned to his son, who was trying to run out of the room.

* * *

**July 23rd, 2017 (5:24 PM)**

Max’s mother had dragged him outside for something. Max didn’t know what for. 

“Why did you br…” Max trailed off as he turned, seeing his mother lighting a cigarette. He didn’t know she was a smoker.

“What?” The woman snapped as she caught him staring.

The boy shook it off. “Why’d you bring me out here?”

Alisha shrugged. “Figured you’d like to come outside since your _pita_ told me you actually liked that camp.”

“Oh.” Max sat on the railing of the porch and kicked his legs a bit. “That uh… that it?”

“No.” His mother hummed. “I wanted to ask you something.”

Max grew quiet.

“Your _pita_ said you mentioned that the people there weren’t bad. That they wanted to get to know you. I was just wondering if… you made any friends during your stay.”

‘Maan _didn’t want me to make friends.’_

“Would you be mad if I did?”

“No.” Alisha was quick to respond.

Max went completely silent, contemplating if he should tell her the truth.

“Do not lie to me.”

_‘Fine.’_

“...yeah.” 

“How many?” Max couldn’t see her face.

“Well… I don’t know about the other kids, but at least two. We… we did a lot of stuff together. Like…” He smiled, the memories of all the crazy shit he, Neil, and Nikki would get up to. “We set off fireworks a lot. Rebelled against the adults. Lots of pranks.” He laughed under his breath. “There were seven other kids. I… I don’t really know if they consider us _friends_ though.”

Max glanced up at his mother. She puffed out smoke, the end of the cigarette lighting up in orange. 

“... _maan_?”

“Come here.” 

“I-”

“ _Come. Here._ ”

The boy hesitantly obliged. His mother turned to him as he was approaching, her expression unreadable. 

Her left hand went under his chin and lifted it, their matching green eyes connecting. She used the same hand to brush any hair away from his neck, then went back to holding his chin. Firmly this time. 

“So… nine friends?”

“I…” Max felt his heart pounding. He didn’t know what his mother was about to do. She never physically hurt him before. Never. “Y-Yeah. Nine.”

_‘Please don’t start now.’_

She placed the cigarette back into her mouth, then puffed the smoke in his face. He coughed and it had hurt more since his face was being forced up. His throat burned, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

He managed to open one of his eyes a bit- the one that didn’t have the healing bruise over it. Everything was blurry, but he managed to see the orange light of the cigarette edging closer to him. Every muscle in his body tensed, his mind racing. What was she going to do? Was she seriously going to burn him?

With the hand that’s holding his chin, Alisha covered his mouth to the best of her ability. 

Then he felt it. 

The cigarette made contact with the area around his collarbone. Max could feel it burn his skin. Tears pricked at his eyes from the pain, but they didn’t fall. He bit his lip, knowing better than to scream. He felt the cigarette leave his collarbone. 

He inhaled sharply, once again coughing from the smoke. It hurt even more now.

Max heard the click of a lighter and he could see the orange of the tip of the cancer stick. He shook his head. He didn’t want it to happen again.

That cigarette collided with his clavicle. Max bit his lip again, this time he was sure he was drawing blood.

The cigarette left.

And another replaced it in another area around the other burns.

It happened again.

And again.

And again.

Nine times. 

One for each friend.

When he was finally let go, his own hand gingerly touched some of the burns. He licked his bottom lip, tasting what was definitely blood. “Y-You said you wouldn’t get mad!”

“Look at me, Maxy.” Max looked at his mother’s face. Not an inch of anger. Almost… satisfaction. “Do I look mad?”

“N-No.”

Alisha hummed with a tiny grin painting her darkened lips. She patted her son’s hair. “Do whatever you will with that.” She went back inside, not sparing the young boy another glance.

Max fell back against the railing, crumbling to the ground in a heap of pain. 

And it wasn’t just physical.

* * *

**July 31st, 2017 (5:23 PM)**

Vomit.

The bathroom just smelled of vomit.

Max was aware that he was underweight. He’d always been. 

But not to this degree, admittedly. 

He remembered when Neil had conducted some sort of experiment where he needed everyone’s heights and weights. At the time, Max had just barely been underweight. It wasn’t anything alarming. 

But Max knew that if Neil took his weight now, he’d be overwhelmingly concerned- _hell_ , even _looking_ at him would alarm the nerd (and David and Gwen, probably). 

Earlier, his father had gotten angry that Max broke the bulb in the basement even though he was cleaning it up and had warned his father of the broken glass. Then the man got mad that the boy was in the basement in the first place despite his mother asking him to go down there and fetch her whatever the fuck it was she wanted.

He’d hit him. That was normal.

What _wasn’t_ normal was that his father kicked him. _Hard._

And when the boy hadn’t puked, the man kicked again. He kept kicking until the boy did.

Now here he was. Above the toilet and in excruciating pain. The burns still hurt, his body still ached, and now his throat was on fire.

Max eventually passed out, waking in the hospital the next day.

* * *

**November 10th, 2017 (9:21 PM)**

Max hadn’t really moved at all. Homeschool had started again back in September, and it was honestly worse than before now that his parents started drinking every Friday. Instead of getting hit for a wrong answer or misbehaving, it was full-on beatdowns. He couldn’t exactly count the number of times he’d been to the hospital, but he did know that the doctors were starting to catch on. 

He also knew that his parents were offering the doctors that knew money. 

And the doctors were accepting. They were keeping quiet. They were going to let the abuse continue.

How fucked up was that?

Max slowly blinked, the action causing pain. His face was fucked. His body was fucked. His legs were fucked. He couldn’t even stand up half the time. How was he supposed to get through homeschool? 

If Max was being honest, he didn’t expect to live by the end of the year.

* * *

**December 22nd, 2017 (11:23 PM)**

Pneumonia. 

_That's_ what it was. He thought his lungs were fucked up from the last time he had gotten beaten. 

His parents got drunk again and hurt him again; his father threw punches and his mother clawed him with her nails. 

There wasn’t a doubt in his mind anymore that both of them didn’t care about him.

Especially when they realized their manipulation and guilt-tripping wasn’t as effective as it used to be. 

That was probably around the time his mother started physically hurting him. 

Max would laugh, but his lungs wouldn’t like that. Not at all.

* * *

**January 2nd, 2018 (2:21 PM)**

His parents weren’t home.

But Max wasn’t about to do anything. There were cameras outside, a tracking device in his upper right ear, and who knew how many people would recognize him on the streets.

Plus where would he go? Camp wasn’t in session and he had no clue where anybody lived.

It wasn’t worth it. It never was.

Max dug around in his nightstand, feeling for the photo. He found it and pulled it out, staring at the photograph. He hadn’t seen them in… almost two years now? 

It amazed him how he still missed them after all this time.

Hell, it amazed him that he still had a crush on Neil after all this time. The nerd would wiggle his way into Max’s thoughts every now and then (so did Nikki, David, and Gwen, but it wasn’t nearly as common).

Max placed the photo down, a little too close to the edge. When he let go, the photo fell to the ground, the glass shattering.

“Shit!” Max yelped, instantly hopping off the bed to clean up the glass. He cut his hand on a shard and reprimanded himself for attempting to clean up broken fucking glass. 

The boy darted out of the room and came back with a vacuum. He grabbed the picture and set it on his bed face down, then he took the still intact frame and gently shook the glass pieces out of it. He placed that on the bed, too.

The noiret flipped the vacuum on and made sure every glass shard was sucked up. He pressed the switch and set the machine to the side, taking in a breath. His anxiety always peaked when something- specifically glass- broke. But it was over. The glass was gone. 

_‘Now what to do with…’_ He looked down at the white back, noticing something written on it. 

In silver marker read “David” and below it was… 

“You’ve got to be shitting me.”

It was a phone number.

_A fucking phone number!_

There had been a phone number on the back of the photo the whole goddamn time. He could have contacted the others ages ago!

_'Stupid fucking dumbass!’_

He prayed the phone call would work.

His fingers punched the number into his phone. His hand lingered over the call button. He was nervous.

David… David wouldn't be angry, would he?

No. He’s David.

He’d… be fine. Right?

Deciding to just get it over with, Max tapped the green circle.

It rang for a while.

_‘Maybe he doesn’t accept random numbers…’_

It rang a little bit more.

_‘Maybe it’s the phone…’_

It went silent.

Or Max thought it did.

**“Hello?”**

Max’s breath hitched in his throat. All his instincts screamed at him to hang up, he was putting David in danger.

“...h-hey.” Max choked out.

**“Hi! Uh, who, um, who are you?”**

“D-David…” Tears sprang to his eyes. It’d been so _fucking long_ since he’d heard any of their voices. It felt so _good_ to hear the redhead’s voice. To hear someone who cared.

**“Hey, are you okay?”**

“I… I’m so sorry.” A tear fell. It’d been a while since he’d fully cried. “David- I…” He started hyperventilating. “I’m so fucking sorry.” 

**“...Max?”** There was a bit of hope in the man’s voice.

The noiret sniffled, then nodded, then remembered David couldn’t see him. “Yeah.” He said quickly. “I-It’s me.”

**“Oh, Max!”** The amount of joy that was in David’s voice… it made Max feel even worse. **“Are- are you okay? Are you hurt?”**

Max couldn’t help but laugh a little. “That’s an un-understatement if I’d ever heard one…”

**“What… what does that mean? Where are you?”**

“...home.”

**“O-Okay… uh, is there a reason you… you’re crying?”**

Max allowed himself to laugh more. “I just… shit, I just really… missed everyone.”

**“What happened, Max? Is there a… reason you didn’t come to camp?”**

“Parents happened.”

**“What does that mean?”**

Max went silent. He couldn’t tell him. He just couldn’t. Instead, he just cried.

**“Max?”**

“I’m sorry.” 

**“Max?!”**

Max hung up. 

He immediately regretted it, but he knew it was better this way. It was better for David. He’d be safe. 

A twig like him wouldn’t stand a chance against someone as built as his father.

His phone buzzed. David was calling again.

Max hit the answer button without thinking.

**“Max?”**

“...what?”

**“Are you safe?”**

Max didn’t answer right away.

**“Max?”**

“I don’t know.” He spoke again before David could say anything. “I don’t know why I did this. I-It was stupid. I… I’m sorry, David. I shouldn’t have called…”

**“No! No, I’m glad you did. N-Now Max, I… I want… _need_ to know… do your parents… hurt you in anyway or…”**

The noiret stopped. He couldn’t. No matter how much he wanted to tell David about it all, no matter how much he wanted David to come get him and take him somewhere where he’d be safe, he just couldn’t. David didn’t deserve whatever his parents would do to him.

“...goodbye, David.”

**“No, Max, wa-!”**

Click. 

Max quickly blocked the number and turned the device down. He wiped at his face, his sleeves coming back damp. But the tears didn’t stop there. His body shook as more and more tears fell. The boy crawled towards his bed where the photo was. He slipped the photograph into the frame as he climbed onto the mattress. 

He held the frame close to his chest as a sob finally escaped from his lips. His body curled into a ball. He fell on his side, his frame violently shaking as his pillow became wetter and wetter from his tears. 

He cried loudly. He didn’t hold back. 

No one was in the house. 

No one would hear. 

No one would care.

Everything was better this way, he tried to convince himself.

But it wasn’t working. 

He didn’t want this.

But he deserved it.

Yeah, he deserved it.

Selfish brat.

He cried louder.

* * *

**January 27th, 2018 (3:56 PM)**

Max unblocked David. He didn’t know why he did it. He just did.

He definitely wasn’t expecting the man to call later in the day. 

Max hesitantly answered.

**“Max?”** He was hopeful. 

“...hey, David.” 

**“Are you-?”**

“I’m fine. I… sorry about that last time I called. I just… missed you guys a lot.”

**“Max, if something-”**

“I said I’m fine. It’s just the usual shit. Neglectful parents, y’know? It’s not so bad.”

**“That’s still not good! Are you eating well?”**

“Define ‘well’.”

**“I mean, like, healthil-”**

“I know what you mean, dumbass. And… I guess. I eat maybe two or three times a week.”

**“That’s not good at all! How… how much do you weigh?”**

“Last time I checked I was about fifty pounds, I think. That was a couple months ago, though.”

**“Max, you… you should be-”**

“About seventy? Yeah, I know. Shit’s difficult when your parents don’t let you eat, and whenever you do, you get forced to throw it all back up.” He ended the sentence with a dark laugh.

**“Max…”**

“So how’s everyone?”

**“Max.”**

“Neil and Nikki doing good? What kinds of shit have they done to you?”

**“ _Max_.”**

“What?” 

**“Are your parents hurting you?”**

“...how’s Gwen?”

**“Please stop avoiding the question.”**

“She doing fine? Still a bitch?”

**“Max, please.”**

He sighed. “...emotionally, I guess.” Max tiptoed around it. “But I suppose that shit’ll happen when you have two fuckfaces for parents. Other than that, I’m... good. Just sucks I’m… back where I started, y’know?”

David was quiet for a moment. **“Gwen’s pretty much the same. Neil and Nikki are… fine.”**

“David.” Now it was Max’s turn.

**“They were really torn over you not coming. And… admittedly so was I.”**

“If I had the choice, I would’ve gone.” Max mumbled.

**“Did your parents not-?”**

“Nope. Said camp… ‘changed’ me. Made me soft. Figured keeping me locked in this hellhole would make me a tough kid.”

**“...you’re already a tough kid.”**

“Please. I’m not ‘tough’. I can’t hit for shit.” Max didn’t think about what he said next. “Another thing I didn’t inherit from my father and I got the marks to prove it.”

The boy could hear a quiet gasp from the other end. Max realized what he said but he didn’t comment on it.

Max heard the car pull up. “Shit.” He ran a hand through his curls. “I… I gotta go. My parents are home and they can’t… bye.” He didn’t wait for David to respond.

He breathed in. Then out.

If he talked to David every once in a while, he might actually be able to keep his sanity.

* * *

**February 12th, 2018 (7:47 PM)**

“R-Rosh…” Max breathed. He was on the verge of passing out and he didn’t know if he’d get up if he did. He was on the bathroom floor. His father decided to finally bring out the belt since he hurt his hand the last time he’d beat his kid. 

**“Max? Hon, are you okay? Where’s Sai?”**

“Not- not here. I…” Max took a breath. “Not here.” He kept repeating that phrase over and over. 

**“I’m coming over.”**

_‘Please do.’_

* * *

**April 2nd, 2018 (4:38 PM)**

Being in the city during the day sucked. There were so many people and not enough space. He could barely keep up with his parents. And the hot air was making the makeup on his face almost unbearable. The multiple jackets he was wearing to hide how thin he was was also bothering the shit out of him.

He swerved past someone, his eyes trained on his father. The man was tall and hard to miss. 

“Fuckin’ dumbass people…” It didn’t help that his parents weren’t stopping for him either.

He finally managed to catch up to the adults at a crosswalk. He sighed, slightly out of breath. That’ll happen when you almost get strangled every day. 

Max moved to where his parents were. There was definitely a lot of traffic and… reckless drivers evident by how out of line and not straight all the cars were. He didn’t like walking across the street, especially in the late morning and afternoon.

His mother tugged on Max’s shoulder, the fresh burns that were there stinging a bit.

"कीप अप।" She whispered. 

Then the light changed, and suddenly people were moving. Max had lost sight of his parents quickly and he panicked a bit. Max paused mid street, forgetting about the oncoming cars and just trying to spot his father.

He didn’t notice how the crowd disappeared around him. 

And he certainly didn’t hear or see the car that was coming at him.

Until it hit him, of course.

He fell to the ground, his hands flying in front of him. The noiret was sure he cut his hand, but that wasn’t his top priority. He tried to stand, but his leg was royally fucked. “Shitshitshitshitshit-” 

Max looked up, finally seeing his parents.

They were just walking away.

People around him were just… walking. Ignoring him.

Like always.

The car backed up, then went around him. Didn’t even bother to apologize for hitting a fucking child.

Max blinked, feeling his breathing start to speed up. He barely noticed a woman approaching him.

“Are you-?” She took one look at his leg and then she whipped her phone out and called 911. She helped him off the street and the two sat for a while. 

He had no idea where his parents were but frankly, he didn’t care. 

* * *

**April 3rd, 2018 (3:00 PM)**

“Eleanor, can you get Preston to bring me some water?” 

_‘Preston.’_ Max perked at the name, but then he relaxed. It was just a name. It wasn’t the Preston he knew. 

The woman who had been running a few tests on the boy’s leg stood once there was a knock at the door. It was probably whoever Preston was. Max craned his next to see who it was when the door opened.

He saw brownish hair.

“Thanks, Goodplay.” The nurse shut the door and said something to Max, but he didn’t hear it. 

_‘Goodplay.’_

Preston Goodplay. 

That was Preston, right? The Preston he knew?

Could he… could he talk to…?

“-ou hear me?”

Max blinked. “N-No, sorry.”

* * *

**April 13th, 2018 (6:11 PM)**

Max twisted the plastic bag handle in his hand. His parents had left after the behavior course, so why not use that time to go to the closest grocery store? Usually he’d find time to go at least once a month. There was only so much he could hold, though, so he couldn’t get too much. 

But what he’s been doing was enough. He managed.

Somehow.

Max leaned against the exterior of the store. His arms were sore from both when he was putting makeup over his face and when his arms were getting battered. 

“Hey there.”

Max looked up. It looked like a homeless guy. He turned his attention away, not wanting to interact with strangers. 

The man inched a little closer. “Hey, I’m talking to you.”

Max continued to ignore him. He should probably leave, right? Max picked the white bags up and wrapped the handle in his hand. 

“Where’re you going?” 

_‘Away from you, creepo.’_

Max started to walk, but then the guy grabbed his wrist, making him drop the bag in that hand. 

“What the hell?!” 

“Y’know, you should listen to people when they speak.”

“Let me go, weirdo!” 

“Ooh, a feisty one.”

Why did every stranger he came across call him feisty? 

The man leaned close to the boy’s ear, his matted greying beard making contact with Max’s neck. “I like feisty.”

Oh. 

Oh shit. 

Oh hell no. 

FUCK NO.

Max immediately tried pushing the guy off of him. He was not about to- no, not on top of everything else he’d been through. It isn’t going to fucking happen.

The guy’s other hand made its way onto Max’s hip, the grip firm. 

“Get the fuck off of me!” He yelled. 

The man ignored his demand. “You’re really thin, too… I love thin boys.”

Max’s mind raced and his heart pounded. He squirmed in the man’s grasp, trying to claw his way out of the hands bounding him there. 

Amongst his fighting, he felt the hand start to slip to a place Max definitely didn’t want it touching. He fought harder, desperate to break free. 

“Stop it!” He screamed. That resulted in the guy’s filthy hand clamping over his mouth. 

“Shh… you’re too loud. Someone will hear.” 

Max took the opportunity to bite down as hard as possible on the man’s palm. He didn’t let go until he tasted blood. 

“Ow!” He let go. “You little-!” 

The boy hurried onto his feet, wasting not even a second to collect his belongings and getting the hell out of there. He felt the man's fingers graze his back, probably in an attempt to snatch his hood, but Max was faster.

Once he was sure he was safe, he stopped running. “...never going there again.” He absently mumbled, counting everything.

He couldn’t wait to get home. 

He felt gross. 

He shivered.

* * *

**April 24th, 2018 (8:43 PM)**

His phone buzzed. He looked down. It was from the group chat. He never deleted it or left the group. It made him feel like he was still a part of things. He’d seen how they discussed having a sleepover. 

And luckily, it seems Space Kid’s address was one of the non-broken texts.

1991161 Winnie Lane.

Everyone would be there.

Maybe he could…

It was crazy and stupid. But if he made it…

* * *

**(11:31 PM)**

He did not make it. 

He didn’t even make it out of the house.

Max stared at his lightly scratched arms. His father hadn’t been home, but his mother was. He didn’t see her in the living room.

Stupid.

* * *

**May 25th, 2018 (9:14 PM)**

He was planning to try to escape to Space Kid’s today. He’d been plotting for a while. He was in the best condition he’d been in in a while, so he figured this might be one of his only chances. His parents were downstairs, getting drunk like they do every Friday.

If he was lucky, they’d get passed out drunk and not let’s-go-beat-our-kid up drunk.

Max opened up his window and peeked out. It wasn’t too far a fall. He could make that, right?

He put a foot onto the windowsill, his nerves beginning to rise, like all the times he and Neil would jump off the cliffside and down into the water.

_‘If you do this, you can see them all again.’_

He got his other foot up. 

He stared down and he hesitated. 

Afraid. 

His body was already sore, but it would be fine from a hop like that, right?

He breathed in, calming himself, preparing himself.

Then he heard it.

Footsteps.

His parents were coming up the stairs. 

Max’s anxiety was rising rapidly but his body refused to jump.

_‘Do it.'_

It was as if everything was frozen.

 _‘Fucking do it!’_

He heard the door swing open and it only took a second for his body to finally respond to him.

Too bad it was too late.

Just as his feet shifted, his father had grabbed the back of his hood and pulled him back.

_‘Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit.’_

“What the hell are you doing?” His father slurred. There was a bottle in his hand.

Max didn’t respond, instead he tried to turn around and leap out the window.

His father stomped on his back as he flipped over, though. Max let out a sudden cry before quickly silencing himself.

“ _What are you doing?_ ”

“N-Nothing, _pita_.”

The pain on his spine increased. “This doesn’t look like _nothing_.”

“I-I was just looking outside!”

Sai’s foot briefly left Max’s back before slamming back down onto it. “ _Don’t lie to me._ ”

Max’s body shook with what was probably fear. He’d grown absolutely terrified of his parents when they were drunk. 

At least when they were sober they didn’t actively try to actually kill him.

Through all the pain, Max felt that his father’s foot had lifted a bit. Maybe he could…

Max squirmed a little, managing to roll out from underneath the man. 

“Hey-!” 

Before Max could get to the window again, his father gripped him by the hair, yanking him back. “Don’t you dare try to-”

Max kicked backwards, his shoe heel colliding with his father’s shin. His father let go and Max shot forward onto the floor. He looked back, seeing the older Jones’ hand firmly wrapped around his ankle.

“Fighting back, eh?” Sai stood up, taking Max with him. Max hung upside down and made contact with his father’s pink glare. “Bad choice.” He threw the boy down, just under the window.

Before Max could do anything, Sai grabbed his son by the throat squeezing tightly. Max gasped for air but none came. He peeked an eye open and did the first thing he thought of: digging his nails into the man’s neck. 

Sai dropped Max, who gasped desperately for air. He tried to stand, but his father shoved him against the wall, his arm holding him in place. 

“You’re _weak_.”

Max spit in his face. “Fuck you!”

The next thing Max knew, a bottle had collided with his head. He was dropped. The blood dripped down his face at a fast pace. He looked up, able to register that his father was approaching and that his mother was at the door with another bottle in her hand. She wasn’t completely blocking the door though.

The boy hopped onto his feet, immediately becoming lightheaded. He tried his best to ignore it as he darted past the man. His mother seemed slightly alarmed, like she wasn’t expecting him to try to rush out of the room.

She attempted to grab him but that only resulted in her deeply scratching her son’s arms. Max didn’t have to look at them to know they were bleeding as well. 

He managed to get past her. He ran down the hall until it turned a corner. He stopped before he completely turned into it, instead turning around to look at his parents.

Bad move.

_Very_ bad move.

He saw something fly at his face but he didn’t register what it was. 

Nor did he realize that it hit him.

It was like he went numb. 

When he came to his senses, he felt the pain that suddenly engulfed the left side of his face, specifically his eye. He also noticed how half of his vision went dark.

But he had to ignore it. Through his right eye he saw his parents approaching. He almost laughed at how his father seemed to stumble a bit.

Max swerved around the adults, managing to just slip out of their attempts of grabbing him.

He ran into his room and slammed the door behind him, locking it and blocking it with a dresser.

He knew it wouldn’t hold. He had to be quick if he was going to get out of here.

“C’mon, c’mon…” Max searched around for his stuff. _‘How do you lose a duffel bag??’_

The boy winced in pain as he tried to blink. His hand rose to touch the area around his eye and-

Oh. That’s why he couldn’t see. 

He felt something cold and jagged sticking out of his eye. 

His… his mother didn’t have the bottle when they both were coming towards him. 

His… did his father throw that at… him…?

He was jerked out of his thoughts as something slammed against his door.

“Open the fucking door!” 

Max started moving faster. He finally found the bag and rushed to the window just as the door flew open. Max swung a leg over the edge. Now all he needed was-

_**BANG.**_

The window above him completely shattered. The boy turned his head, panicked, to see his father standing there with the pistol he would threaten Max with all the time.

But never once did he ever actually shoot it.

Max’s breath quickened. _He was fucking_ terrified. 

_‘Nowornevernowornevernowornevernowornevernowornevernowornever.’_

Max swung his other leg outside. His body froze, all his anxiety about jumping coming back to him in a hurry. He felt like he was there forever.

His knuckles turned white from grabbing the windowsill so tightly. He was scared. But he had to do this.

_‘If you stay here you’re going to fucking die! GO!’_

Just as he breathed in to jump, he heard another gunshot and then there was a stinging pain in his shoulder.

And suddenly he was falling to the ground. 

Max landed with a crack and a thud.

Right onto the glass. 

He felt pieces dig into his legs, specifically his thighs. 

Max tried to push himself up, going against everything in his body that told him to stay right there and not move. His brain, however, screamed at him to get up and run. He had to. He knew he’d die if he stayed there and he was _not_ about to waste months of surviving to give it all up now.

He fell back down, the glass digging further. He let out a silent sob of pain. 

**_BANG._**

The dirt next to him flew up and Max’s adrenaline kicked in again. He forced himself to ignore the pain as he got himself up. He grabbed the bag and put it over his unwounded shoulder. 

He ran. 

He ran until he couldn’t breathe.

And even then he kept running.

He was in the middle of the sidewalk when he finally stopped and collapsed. Everything hurt and felt like it was on fire. He laid on his back, the place that hurt the least. He looked at his legs. God, they were fucked. He didn’t know what his eye looked like and honestly he didn’t know if he _wanted_ to know.

He blinked a few times. 

He was kind of… sleepy.

Despite the pain he was comfortable enough to fall asleep…

…

He was dying, wasn’t he?

He was going to die here in the middle of the sidewalk, wasn’t he?

He was never going to see anyone ever again, wasn’t he?

“...I miss you.” He said to no one in particular as a tear escaped his uninjured eye. “I miss you so much.”

His vision faded and Max thought for sure he was dead.

* * *

**May 26th, 2018 (10:08 AM)**

There was a familiar beeping noise. One he’d heard too many times.

His first thought is if he was even alive. 

He found himself capable of opening his eyes. His left eye was covered by what felt like bandages. He looked around. Yeah. He was… alive.

How the hell was he alive?

The majority of his body was covered in bandages. That didn’t really surprise him. Max heard something move and turned his head to the left to see a kid shuffling tools around. 

Max exhaled sharply. He winced, it hurt a little. 

The boy turned around. “Holy shit, you’re alive.” He said, a bit startled.

Max only nodded a little.

“I’m gonna go get my dad! Stay here!”

_‘You think I can go anywhere?’_

A few moments later two women and a man dressed in white entered the room. 

They started to do… things. Probably like checking him or something. Max wasn’t really paying attention. 

A man sat at his bedside. “Hello.” He did a small wave. Max didn’t recognize him. “I’m Dr. Grinyard. How are you feeling?”

Max attempted to use his vocal cords. “...terrible.” As if they predicted he’d have trouble speaking, one of the women helped him drink a glass of water. He felt like a baby. 

“Awful.” Max reaffirmed.

The doctor looked at him sympathetically. Max was annoyed by it. “What’s your name? First, middle, and last, please.”

“Maximus Tana Jones.” He sighed.

One of the women left the room.

“Okay, Maximus-”

“Max.” He hates being called Maximus.

“ _Max_.” The doctor corrected himself. “Can you tell me what you remember?”

 _‘Just jumping right into it, huh?’_ Max pondered for a moment. Where were his parents? The woman… probably went to go get them, didn’t she? Oh, he wasn’t going to make it to next week. 

“Where… where, uh, where are my parents?”

“Well, Ms. Windrow went to go fetch your information. Once we have that we’ll contact them to let them know you’re here. They’re probably worried sick…” The doctor looked to Max for something. “Unless there’s something going on at home. Is there?” Max looked away. No doctor ever actually helped him, not in the sense of getting out of that damn house. Why would this one be any different?

“No.”

Dr. Grinyard shuffled a bit in his seat. “Then can you tell me what happened?”

“I…” Max thought about using the same lie he’d used a few times before. “I don’t know. Everything was a blur.”

“Mm.” He was scribbling onto a paper on a clipboard. “Do your parents have a history of drinking?”

Max didn’t say anything. 

“Max, I’m here to help.” His voice was soft. “I swear to you, if something is going on, we’ll get you out of it. Just tell me what happened.”

“...yes.” Max relented. “Couple months ago, they started drinking every Friday.”

Dr. Grinyard nodded. “Well, yesterday was Friday and yesterday you had a bottle sticking out of your eye. Is there… any correlation between those?”

The boy stared at the doctor, considering telling him the truth. There was no way he was going to live when he inevitably gets returned to his parents, so why the hell not? “Yeah.” He swallowed thickly. “Yeah, there is.”

“And the glass in your thighs?”

Max shook his head. “No, that’s from the window.” At least, he was sure it was.

“Window?”

“A window broke and… I fell out of it.”

“Okay…” More scribbles. “Does either parent own a gun?”

“My father does. He owns a few…” Max expected the doctor to ask him about the gunshot, but he didn’t.

“Before this, had there ever been a history of abuse of any kind?”

The boy froze. The words were in his throat, but his mouth refused to open to let those words out. 

But it seemed like his silence and facial expression was enough for the doctor. 

“Kylie, can you phone the police department?”

Max paled. “N-No!” He suddenly yelled.

Max’s outburst was ignored by the other woman as she left the room.

“No…” The noiret exhausted. “No, you… you can’t do anything. No one has _ever_ been able to do anything.”

Grinyard looked up at him. “Why not?”

“My parents, they pay everyone to keep quiet. And those people do. Police never find anything. It’s useless.” Max looked at the doctor sourly. “This time won’t be any different.”

The man put the clipboard to the side and directed all his attention to Max. “You know, I have a sister who works in Child Protective Services and her husband is a police officer. And I assure you, whatever money they can try to offer me, I won’t take.”

Then, the woman who had gone to get his information came back. She handed the man it and he began to go through it.

“If your parents aren’t good people for us to contact… is there any other adult who we can?”

Max thought about his aunt, but she was convinced his father was a good man. Other family members didn’t live close enough… there really wasn’t anyone except…

“...David.”

* * *

**(12:11 PM)**

The doctors had asked a few more questions, and Max had answered as truthfully as possible. He didn’t know why knowing that the doctor had connections to people who theoretically could help him made him feel just a little better.

Around an hour ago, one of the women had called David. He said he’d be there as soon as possible and Max had been waiting since. 

He was definitely nervous. Sure, he’d _talked_ to David a couple times, but he’d never _seen_ him since camp. 

Max had been informed that they would go to the Jones’ residence to investigate his parents. He was assured that they wouldn’t be swayed with money, though Max had his doubts.

He closed his eyes, thinking about everything that had transpired in the previous months. The previous night. 

It was a lot.

Then the door squeaked open and Max peeked through his eyelid. 

It wasn’t a doctor.

It was David. 

“Max?” He slowly approached. 

“Mm?”

A large smile came to David’s lips as he rushed over to the boy. As he got closer though, his expression changed to one of complete horror. “Oh my gosh- you look… oh, I am so sorry, are-are you alright? I mean, obviously you’re not, but, are- uh, are you okay?”

Max blinked at him. “Uh… I guess?” He sank into the pillow. “I’m alive. So I guess that’s good.”

“It is.” David smiled. 

“So, uh…” Max started. “What’d they tell you?”

“Almost everything you told them.” David sighed. “I should’ve done something. I suspected something was wrong but I didn’t do anything other than-”

“Calling was enough.” Max cut him off. 

“No, it wasn’t.” David argued. “If I’d done something else, you might not be in this mess…”

Max disagreed, but he didn’t really want to argue. “Did they tell you anything about my parents? All I know is that they’re investigating…”

David sat at his bedside. “Your parents were taken in for questioning.” _‘Not arrested?’_ “And your room is under heavy investigation, but that’s as much as they told me.” It seemed like David could see the fear in Max’s face. “They’re looking for anything and everything to make sure you’re not going back to them.”

Max slowly nodded. That’s all he really wanted. But knew how the foster system sucked. He’d heard horror stories and read about cases when the system just failed kids. He didn’t want that.

“I’m… if they are found guilty, I’m getting put into the system, aren’t I?”

“I think so.”

“David,” His voice was almost beggingly. “I don’t… I don’t want to go to one of those homes.” He wished he could reach out to him. “Please don’t let me go to one of those homes. Promise me you won’t.”

David seemed a little conflicted, but ultimately conceded. “I promise.”

* * *

**May 29th, 2018 (6:21 PM)**

Max had just finished eating when David came back. 

“Hey, sorry buddy, I was busy with something.” David seemed happier than usual. Almost too happy.

“Busy with what?”

“Well…” David suddenly seemed a little nervous. “Officer Tring said that there’s a super high chance your parents will be arrested and you’ll be placed in the system. _But_!” The redhead quickly followed. “I… well, I may have or may not have just been approved as a foster parent…”

Wait. Was David implying what Max thought he was implying?

“Are… are you saying…?”

“I-If you don’t want to that is perfectly fine! I’m just saying it’s an option if you-”

“Of course!” Max shouted. “I-I mean, yes! God, you’re a fucking dumbass if you thought I’d-” Max caught himself. He breathed in. “Thank you.”

“So… that’s a yes?”

Max furiously nodded. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off of him. More than when he finally told the doctors about all the shit he’d been through. A thought came across his mind though. “Wait, but doesn’t training or whatever take a long time? There’s no way you did all that in a few days.”

“You’re right, I didn’t.” David fumbled with his hand. “I actually started back when you first called me.”

Oh.

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m not.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously!”

“...thank you.”

David only smiled.

* * *

**May 31st, 2018 (7:44 PM)**

Max was happy. No, _more_ than happy.

His parents were arrested. They were arrested! Gone!

And David was given the go-ahead to house Max.

The only downside right now was that he was still required to stay in the hospital. It was really just to make sure he was absolutely and totally fine.

“You brought your guitar.” Max pointed out.

“Yeah. I just thought, maybe, since I’ve been told you’ve had trouble sleeping, I could play you a song. To help you sleep.”

“Uh… okay.”

“Have you ever seen _Tangled_?”

“Yes.”

“Do you like ‘I See the Light’?”

Max nodded.

David smiled and let his fingers dance across the strings, the soft melody of the song began to fill the room.

David began to sing Rapunzel’s part and Max closed his eyes. His parents never sang him to sleep. Only tucked him in. But even that didn’t last long.

_“Now that I see you.”_

Max could feel himself start to slip into sleep. He listened to David do Eugene’s part as well. 

_“And it’s like the sky is new.”_

Max turned on his side, facing David. He began to mumble the words alongside the man. 

_“And it’s warm and real and bright.”_

David seemed to take notice of Max singing along. He lowered his voice a bit. 

_“And the world has somehow shifted.”_

David moved a little closer, his shoulder now facing Max’s direction.

_“All at once, everything is different.”_

David backed out of the next line, allowing Max to sing it on his own. _“Now that I see you.”_

 _“Now that I see you.”_ The redhead played the last few notes. 

Once the song was over, he stood up and ran his hand through Max’s hair. “Feel better, bud.”

Max lazily blinked at him as he buried his face in his pillow. He closed his eyes, being able to see the lights dim through his eyelids.

He couldn’t wait to get out of the hospital.

* * *

**June 2nd, 2018 (11:31 AM)**

After multiple checks and prescriptions and house inspections and paperwork, Max was finally allowed to leave the hospital. 

David helped him walk out of the hospital and to the car since, one, his legs were still in pain, and two, he was still adjusting to being able to see out of only one eye. When he realized he had lost complete vision in that eye… that was not a good day for him.

Eventually they made it to a red car. “Not that camp car?” He went to open the backdoor. 

“No, not the camp car.” David held the duffel bag from when Max tried to escape in his hand. “You can sit in the front, you know.”

Max looked at David, then to the passenger door. His parents didn’t allow him to sit in the front… was he really allowed to…? 

Max hesitantly got into the passenger seat. He watched David put all of Max’s things in the backseat through the rearview mirror. Max tugged his seatbelt on as David got into the driver’s seat.

“Ready to go home?”

Max looked at him. _‘Home._ ’

“Yeah. Yeah, let’s… yeah.” He breathed. David chuckled.

They drove for a while. Max eventually noticed that they had driven out of the city. He never lived outside of the city before. After what was probably twenty minutes, David pulled into the driveway of an orange house. 

“It’s not as big as your parent’s house, but… I think it’s good.”

“I don’t care about the size of the house, David.” Max pulled himself out of the car. Honestly? He was happy that it was smaller than his parents house. It was extremely lonely and Max would rather not feel that.

David helped Max to the front door. He unlocked it and Max stepped in. “It’s a little empty…”

There was a sky blue couch to his left, a flatscreen across from it, and red petunias in a light green vase on a small dark table. “Why?” Max asked.

“Heh, uh… this is my fifth time being in this house…”

“Wait, you bought a new house? Is that because of me?”

“Well, the place I was at before wouldn’t have been big enough for both of us. Besides, the lease ends next month.”

“And you can afford this?”

“It’s not that expensive.” David reassured.

“David.”

David patted Max’s head, careful to not bother one of the healing cuts. “I promise you, Max. And you know that _you_ get all the earnings your parent’s companies make, right?.”

“I do?”

“Apparently, yes.”

Max put a hand in the pocket of the jacket David lent him. “So are you just gonna, like, mooch off of me?”

“No, not exactly. I have a job other than camp, you know.”

“And what’s that?”

David smiled. “I’m actually a teacher’s assistant.”

Max snorted. “Teachers don’t make shit.”

“It’s something.” David gleefully shrugged. He went back outside to collect Max’s things. 

The noiret found his way into the kitchen. Definitely smaller than the one at the manor. It was well-stocked though. Probably part of the house check.

David wandered back in, bags in hand. “Hey, let me show you your room.” He led Max to black stairs. “Do you need…?”

“I think I can do it myself.”

“Just tell me if you need me, okay?”

Max nodded. He managed to make it to the top. There were a few doors, one was a blue bathroom, one was a mostly empty room with a white queen sized bed, and another at the end of the hall with… 

“Woah.” Max pushed the door open. The room was more decorated than the whole house, though that wasn’t really saying much. The bed was also a queen size and covered in a blue plaid pattern. The walls were a baby blue color and there was a dark brown wooden dresser on the bed’s right side. 

To put it simply, he liked it.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah.” Max answered. He walked over to the bed, feeling the material. It was soft. Really soft. Max gently laid his upper body onto it. 

David approached him and placed the bag on the bed next to the boy. “Next week you can go get stuff from your house. But, for now you just have this.”

Max sat up and started to go through his belongings. Everything seemed fine.

“Do you need anything? Are you hungry?”

Max quietly shook his head. “No, I think… I think I’m fine for now.”

“Alright!” David spoke in his usual happy tone of voice. “Make sure you change your bandages. Supplies are in the bathroom. Do you think you’ll need help?”

“I should be fine.” Max shook the dark green jacket off. 

“Call me if you need me, alright?”

“Yeah, got it.”

Max followed David out of the room, but diverted himself into the bathroom. He shuffled his shoes and socks off, wincing a bit at how cold the mosaic tile was. He tore his plain white shirt off and his jeans. There was a full-length mirror in the corner and Max used it to look at himself.

He couldn’t help but notice how thin he’d become. Sure, he wasn't skin and bones thin, but his ribs were alarmingly visible. There was little to no noticeable meat on his arms, either. Looking closely at his face, his cheekbones were poking out a bit. 

Maybe he _should_ eat. He hadn’t eaten regularly in such a long time that his body just became used to it. 

Max ignored the way his body looked in favor of replacing the dirty bandages. The last one left was his eye. He hadn’t seen it yet and he was a little nervous.

He carefully peeled the bandage off his eye and slowly raised his head to look at himself.

He gasped slightly. The sclera had a tint of red and his pupil had a fading cut in it. Maybe he was crazy, but his pupil and iris seemed… lighter. Especially his pupil.

He shook it off, rewrapping it. He could permanently take it off in a week or until there was absolutely no bleeding, which Max was confident that’d be within the next three days.

He dressed himself and exited the bathroom. He waltzed down the stairs and saw David rummaging through a box.

David seemed to have heard him since he turned around as Max reached the bottom. “Hey, buddy, you need something?”

“I just decided I wanted to eat… is that okay?”

“Yeah!” David assured. “There’s snacks in the white cabinet.”

“Okay.”

It felt… weird but alright to be living with David. Max glanced around the kitchen and spotted the cabinet. He opened it and found multiple unopened boxes of snack cakes and fruit gummies. The boy tore open the zebra cakes box and took one of the packages out. 

Max walked out of the kitchen and saw David putting up a framed picture. 

Max smiled. He could definitely get used to this.

* * *

**June 25th, 2018 (6:47 AM)**

“I know you want to go, but the doctors said you can’t do too much physical activity.” David tied his yellow shirt-bandana around his neck. 

“I can just sit out!” Max tried to reason. He was so close to seeing his friends again. “Just have me sit around!”

“Max, I can’t let you do that. You know you’ll probably do things that’ll make your recovery longer.”

“What would I do?”

“Pranks and stuff. Like you did that first summer. I don’t want you straining yourself.”

Max hated that David had a point.

“Hey, I’ll tell Neil and Nikki you’re okay. I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear.”

Max perked up at that. A thought flashed through his mind. “Wait, don’t!”

“Huh? Why not?”

“I…” Honestly, Max wasn’t sure why not. He quickly created an excuse. “I don’t want them to worry all summer… you know? Drop a bombshell that their friend was on the brink of death, they’ll probably do nothing but worry and demand that they see me, which will hinder the recovery process.”

David seemed to think about it. “You’re probably right.”

_‘Holy shit, that worked.'_

David looked at his wrist. “Where is he…?”

“Where is who?”

“Campbell.”

“Campbell?” Max cocked his head. “Why-?”

“I’m not leaving you here alone all summer.”

That… made sense.

David grabbed some of his stuff for camp and opened the front door. “Oh, Campbell!” 

Max peeked out the door, seeing Cameron Campbell himself in the driveway. The two men greeted each other but Max couldn’t hear what they said. 

David eventually left. Campbell approached the door and walked in.

“You’ve seen better days.”

“Tell that to my left eye.”

* * *

**July 8th, 2018 (8:01 AM)**

Max sat on the couch, eating Cocoa Puffs and rewatching the 2017 remake of _It_. 

Campbell was asleep in the guest bedroom. 

It was a usual morning.

There was a knock at the door and Max paused the movie. He set his cereal down and moved to the door, wondering why there was someone knocking at the door the whole way there. 

Max opened it up and blinked from the sunlight. When he was able to see clearly, he saw a woman.

A woman he recognized.

“Hey.”

Max blinked a little more. “Gwen? What the hell?”

She walked in. “I’m spending the week with you.”

“What? Hold on, how the fuck did… what did David tell you?”

“Everything.” Gwen hummed. 

“Everything?!” Max gaped. “Did he tell any-”

“No, he didn’t. He only told me because I kept buggin’ him about you.” She set her bag down. “Which…” She suddenly turned around and wrapped Max in a tight hug. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Max hesitantly hugged back. Physical affection was still something he was working on.

“Jesus Christ, you are _thin_.”

“Thanks, I hadn’t noticed.” Max deadpanned. He felt a hand on his cheek and he looked up to see Gwen looking at his eye.

“This isn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.”

“You’re strangely calm.”

“Would you rather me fretting over and babying you?”

“No. I’d hate that.”

“Well, be ready to deal with that next week. David and I are switching so he’ll be here.”

“Shit.”

“Come on, show me where that greedy son of a bitch is.”

* * *

****

**July 12th, 2018 (7:19 PM)**

****

“Hey Max,” Max turned his head to look at the woman. “C’mere.”

“What?” Max inquired as he approached Gwen. 

“I got a little something for you.” She reached into her bag and pulled a yellow long-sleeved sweater, one that looked way too familiar.

“Wait, is that Neil’s?” He gingerly took it.

“Yep. Thought you’d like it.”

Max felt his face light up. Despite how long it’d been, feelings lingered. “W-Why would you think I-?”

“ _Please_ ,” Gwen smirked. “I saw the way you looked at that kid. And yesterday you were clearly more interested about what Neil’s been doing than what Nikki’s been doing.”

“I literally hate you.”

“Hate you too.”

Max laughed under his breath.

“So you gonna put it on or what?”

“Wha- why would I put it on?”

Gwen gave him a look. Max huffed. “Maybe later…”

The woman laughed. “Okay, now that I know it’s legit, please give me details. I won’t tell anyone.”

Max’s face flushed, but he took the offer anyway. “Well…”

* * *

**July 15th, 2018 (10:45 AM)**

Max woke up to the smell of pancakes. No doubt David was already here.

Max bounded down the stairs, seeing his foster dad cleaning the table. He looked up, seeing Max there. “Good morning!” He chirped.

“...morning.” Max hummed. 

“Hey, can I see your eye?”

Max stood in his place. David held his face, observing Max’s blinded eye.

“It looks a lot better.” He resumed cleaning the table.

“Uh huh.”

“How’d last week go?”

“It was fun.” Max looked down at his nails. Gwen had painted them black two days ago. 

“That’s good! How’s Campbell been?”

“He’s alright. You know he actually really likes birds?”

“I saw him birdwatching when I was a kid.”

“How’d he react?”

“His instinct was to say that he’d sue me if I said anything.”

“Sounds about right.”

David nodded as he placed a plate down. “I’ll go get him. Go ahead and eat.”

Max watched him go as he started to eat. His eating schedule had definitely gotten better. As he swallowed his first bite, he looked down. Gwen had finally convinced him to wear Neil’s sweater and goddammit did he feel cozy. It reminded him of all the times he and Neil would sleep in the same cot. He understood why he wasn’t allowed to go this summer, but he really wished he was.

He hoped he could talk to the nerd soon. 

* * *

**October 28th, 2018 (4:08 PM)**

“The last time you had a pet were two cats who were shot in the head by your dad?” Gwen asked as she drove.

“Yep.”

“That is… oh, that is fucked up.”

“Tell me about it.” Max huffed. He poked at the black choker that covered his neck. It was uncomfortable, but he had to wear it to hide the bruise he’d given himself. Most of his injuries were healed by this point and seeing his body without a single bruise felt unnatural. He tried bruising his arms or legs but wasn’t successful. So instead he tried his neck and it worked. Then he stole one of Gwen’s chokers to cover it up and lied about it, stating he liked the way it looked. Which wasn’t a complete lie. The choker combined with those sweaters his aunt gave him two Christmas' ago just made him really happy for some reason. 

“Did David give you any restrictions?”

“No overly big ones.” Max clicked. “Or overly small ones. He’s afraid of stepping on them or them being able to take him down.”

“He’s a literal twig. The wind can knock him down.”

“That’s what I said!” 

Gwen laughed. “So what kind are you looking for?”

Max shrugged. “Medium-sized.”

“That all?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

Gwen pulled into the parking lot of the closest animal shelter. It took a lot less convincing than Max thought it would take to get David to agree to let him get a dog. He had seen people walking their dogs and it made him want one. He missed pets.

The two walked in, seeing cages full of animals. “Hey, you browse, I’m gonna go talk to someone who works here, okay?”

Max nodded. Gwen walked off and Max began to look around. A lot of the dogs were cute and Max honestly wished he could take them all with him, even the ones who growled at him. But he couldn’t. He could only have one.

There was a light brown saluki puppy that had gained his attention. He was able to identify that it was a female and that she was only two weeks old. Max poked his finger through the cage and the dog played with it. Max smiled down at the dog. If she wasn’t so small, he might just get her. 

He retracted his finger and the dog stared up at him. She had pretty light brown eyes. Max noticed that she had a small scar between her eyes. Before he could linger on that, the dog turned and fumbled away to her siblings.

Max reluctantly moved on, eyeing others. Eventually, he came across a fluffy dark grey keeshond puppy. This one also drew him in. The pup playfully bit at his fingers. She was big enough that Max felt confident that David wouldn’t be too afraid of stepping on her.

He stuck around that cage until Gwen found him. “Hey, kid.” She crouched next to him. “Who’s this?”

“A keeshond, I think.” He glanced up at the sign.

“You think this is the one?”

Max looked at the dog.

“...yeah. I think I like this one.”

“Alright, I’ll go tell the worker.”

“I know I gotta name you… what about…” Max’s eyes flickered to her grey color. “Asha?”

The dog barked.

“Asha.”

* * *

**November 26th, 2018 (5:58 PM)**

“Tell me, how did you convince David to let you get another dog? Because I’ve been trying to convince him to let me make dinner or wash the dishes for once and he won’t let up.” 

“I have no idea.” Max grinned, petting the energetic dog in his lap. It was the brown saluki he’d seen from the first time he went. She was bigger now, so Max was sure David would be okay with it. If not, well she was already theirs. 

“So we’ve got Asha and…?”

“Cinnamon.” Max answered, letting the dog bite his hand.

“God, she’s cute.”

“Why do you think I got her?” Cinnamon jumped off the seat and between Max’s legs. She curled up there and just sat. “Okay then.” Max leaned back in his seat. He looked over to Gwen and an idea formed.

“Hey, remember when you asked me about Neil?” Gwen nodded. “And how you said I could ask you about any of your romances or whatever?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I wanna ask you something.”

“What?”

“When the hell are you and David getting together?”

Gwen almost lost control of the car. “I- what?” She sputtered. “What do you mean?”

“Come on, I see the way you look at each other! Don’t tell me you don’t like him.”

“I-I…” Gwen burned her focus onto the road. “Shut up.” 

Max could see that her face was red. “You’re red.”

“ _Shut. Up._ ” 

“Hey, I’m just wondering if I’m gettin’ a mom.”

Gwen went silent at that. 

“If you two don’t get together by next year, I’ll get a chihuahua.”

“Please don’t.”

“Then resolve your sexual tension.”

“There isn’t- _MAX_.”

Max cackled.

* * *

**December 25th, 2018 (8:32 AM)**

“So,” Max swirled his coffee. “Have you two banged yet?”

“Max, please, it’s eight in the morning.”

“You didn’t deny that you weren’t together.” He’d caught the two being overly affectionate within the last week and he’d been bugging Gwen about it since they hadn’t informed him of their relationship. What was it, friends with benefits?

“I’m tired.”

“Does this mean I’m not getting the chihuahua?”

Gwen sighed. “No, you’re not getting a chihuahua.”

“But I got a mom.”

Gwen smiled. “Guess you did.” She basically inhaled the rest of her coffee. “C’mon. Let’s go open presents.”

“I know one of them’s a video game. If I get something PG I’m burning the tree.”

“Well, I can assure you it’s not.”

“Thank fucking god.”

* * *

**March 11th, 2019 (3:47 PM)**

“Sumit. His name’s Sumit!” Max petted the akita’s head. He hugged him. “I am _so_ going to regret getting you.” 

David and Gwen sat by Max as Asha and Cinnamon sniffed the new dog. Asha seemed to invite him to play and Sumit took it. Cinnamon opted to lay her head on Max’s lap instead.

Max loved this.

Everything he’d endured was worth it.

* * *

**May 27th, 2019 (6:28 PM)**

**Ms. Magic: Where’s everyone**

**Dumbass: Me n neil are outside ‘3** ’

Max read over the conversation. He was growing a little frustrated and he didn’t know why. Maybe it was because he felt left out. Neglected, almost. But it wasn’t their fault. It was his, he knew. If he let David tell them last summer… there was always this summer. Better late than never, right?

**BadShakespeare: I just got here**

**BadShakespeare: Are u inside?**

**Ms. Magic: Me and Harry are**

**Dumbass: I see u!!!**

Max’s grip tightened on his phone.

**BeepBeepBitchYou’reGay: im in the line**

Max’s frustration got the best of him. He threw the phone across his room. It hit the wall and shattered into pieces. But frankly, he didn’t care. 

David and Gwen came rushing into the room shortly after, probably alarmed by the glass breaking. They hurried to the boy’s side and comforted him as he sobbed uncontrollably. Max cried as long as he needed to. David and Gwen would be patient. They always were.

* * *

**August 23rd, 2019 (8:57 PM)**

“Hey, Max?” David knocked on the noiret’s door. 

“Mm?” Max tapped the screen of the phone David and Gwen had gotten him last month.

“How would you feel if I enrolled you in public school?”

Max looked up and turned his phone off. “I… wouldn’t be against it.”

“Good…” David breathed a sigh of relief.

“You already enrolled me, didn’t you?”

“Maybe?” He sheepishly smiled. “Um, I’m also going to working there as a gym teacher there…”

“Seriously?” 

“Uh huh.” David fiddled with his thumbs. “And there’s a chance some kids from camp will be going there.”

He had Max’s full attention now. “Do you know who?” _‘Please be Neil and Nikki.’_

“No, I don’t. But I can probably look at the list of students.”

“If any of us are in your class…” Max bit his lip. “Could you separate us?”

David looked baffled. “Why?”

“After not saying anything to them for such a long time… I don’t know, things are going to be awkward.”

“Oh.” David looked at his knees. “I’ll… I’ll figure something out.”

“...thanks.”

David ruffled his hair.

* * *

**September 9th, 2019 (10:55 AM)**

Public school was just as miserable as Max remembered it to be. But hey, at least he wasn’t getting hit.

He bumped into a boy with blond hair. He’d been bumping into a few people because of the hair that covered his face. He didn’t quite want to show his eye off to the world. It was just whatever to Max, but then the kid pulled him back and shoved him into the wall. 

“Watch where you’re fucking going!” The kid stuck his finger into Max’s chest. 

Max sighed, really not giving a shit. “I’m not the one who’s cross-eyed.” He would say ‘blind’, but… 

The kid narrowed his eye at the noiret, then punched him right in the face, stepping on his foot in the process. Max almost laughed. The kid was _weak_. The punch barely hurt. He still fell against the wall, though. He listened to the blond boy walk away. 

Soon the hallway emptied and he was alone.

At least, he thought he was.

“Are you okay?” 

“The fuck it look like?” Max held his hand at his mouth, making sure it didn’t bleed. He didn’t look at the person.

“Do you need me to get a nurse or…?”

“Nah. I’ve dealt with this shit before. I’m okay.” The noiret grabbed the wall behind him for support as he tried to pull himself back up. When he put his weight on his left foot, however, he fell back down. “Fuck.” He muttered. “Think the guy stepped on my foot. Fat fuck.” Despite the mild pain, he laughed a little to himself.

“So much for a first day, huh?” Max glanced up to see the boy had extended a hand.

Max took it. “Mhm.” He tapped the tip of his foot on the floor to see if he could walk properly. 

Then the bell rang.

“Aw shit.” The other boy muttered.

“So? First day. Say you were lost.” He finally looked at the kid. He seemed… familiar. Way too familiar. 

He smiled and Max felt his heart skip a beat. “I guess I could. Hey, what class do you have next? You don’t seem worried.”

Max clicked his tongue. “Got a health class with a dumbass guy named Mr. Luna.” _‘Who’s also my foster dad, did you know?’_

“Really? That’s where I was headed…”

Max turned to start walking towards David’s class. “Great. We can be late buddies.” He began his trek. 

“Hey,” Max heard footsteps behind him, indicating that the boy had run up to him. “Since we’re going to the same place,” Jones felt a hand grab his shoulder and keep him there. The other male held his other hand out. “I’m Neil.”

Oh. 

Oh fuck.

 _That’s_ why his heart skipped a beat. 

“Neil?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many clown licenses do you think Max's parents have?  
> Next chapter will switch back to Neil's POV and the gay times really will be a comin'  
> if there are any mistakes I will kashoot myself  
> Edit: uh i kinda wanna make friends in the cc community so if u wanna be friends pls dm me on insta or tumblr i'm lonely 👉👈


	13. I Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So…” Max rubbed his thumb against Neil’s hand. “What does that make us?” His voice was quiet.
> 
> “...what do you _want_ to be?” Neil’s was equally quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ♡

“That…” Neil’s thoughts raced. “I am so sorry.” It was a lot to take in.

“Don’t.” Max squeezed Neil’s hand. “You didn’t know. That’s not your fault.”

“But-”

“Please, Neil. I hate it when people feel guilty over what happened to me. It wasn’t anyone’s but mine and my parent’s fault.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” _‘He probably had to deal with that a lot from Gwen and especially David…’_

Max seemed unsure, but Neil could tell to drop the topic. Max was vulnerable and Neil needed to tread carefully. 

Neil looked at Max’s ear. “You mentioned your parents gave you, like, a tracker, right?” He pointed at the helix piercing. “Is that it?”

Max brought a hand up to it. “No. It was taken out at the hospital. I just wanted this.”

Neil slowly nodded, his gaze slipping down. “Your neck.”

Max paled a bit. He lowered his head, barely obscuring what Neil saw. 

“Max…” Neil used his free hand to lift Max’s head back up and examined his neck. It was a little purple, but it was mostly yellow. It was probably a few days old. “When did you do this?”

Max looked away. “...Friday.”

_‘Friday was when I…’_ “Was it because I...?”

Max shifted. “N-No.” 

“Please tell me the truth. Did you do that because of me?”

The noiret remained silent, but he looked ashamed. That was enough to answer Neil’s question. 

Neil quietly pulled Max into a hug, which the boy flinched at but took it gratefully. 

“...‘m sorry.” Max mumbled into his shoulder. 

“Don’t apologize.” 

They stayed there for a while. 

_“I missed all those nights where you ran your hands through my hair.”_

Neil raised a hand to caress Max’s head. When he made contact, Max relaxed and closed his eyes. 

_“Gwen actually stole one of you sweaters and gave it to me.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Well… because I… uh... “ Neil noticed how red dusted his cheeks. “Not important.”_

Did that mean Max liked him back? Neil couldn’t fight the smile that had risen to his lips. The nerd was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Max start to shake. He looked down at the other teen, seeing him squeezing his eyes closed. _‘He’s about to…’_

“It’s okay.” Neil whispered, moving the hand that wasn’t in the noiret’s hair to his back. 

That seemed to break Max. Tears started falling as he buried himself further into Neil’s shoulder. Neil, in turn, rubbed circles into Max’s back and began to whisper comforting things. 

Honestly, Neil couldn’t imagine having to live in those conditions. Hell, he couldn’t imagine _living_ through it. How Max managed to survive… well, Neil was just happy he was here in his arms and not six feet under. 

“...hey, remember how David said you already were a tough kid?”

“Mhm?” Max sniffed. 

“I don’t think he meant physically.” He felt Max pause. “I think he meant that you were tough for being so resilient and opposing.” Neil pulled back, his eyes connecting with Max’s. “And, well, he wasn’t wrong.”

A blush appeared on Max’s tearful face as he looked away. “Resilient.” He muttered. “That’s what Gwen called me.”

The hand in Max’s hair moved down to his cheek. “She wasn’t wrong.”

Max snorted. “I know that.” He leaned into Neil’s touch. “She called me a lot of things.”

Neil used his thumb to wipe away a few of the noiret’s tears. He glanced at the teen’s face. “Well… did she ever tell you that you’re… cute? ‘Cause she wouldn't have been wrong.” He couldn’t help himself.

Max laughed softly. “Are you seriously flirting?” 

“I mean… it seems like it’s helping.” 

“You’re a moron.” Max leaned forward, embracing Neil again. “...thank you... for never giving up on me even though I was a total asshole.”

“You were scared.” Neil reassured. “I don’t blame you.”

“You should.”

“No, I shouldn’t.”

They sat there in silence for a few seconds before there was a knock at the door. Max didn’t budge from his spot as David came through the door. He looked between the two boys, a gentle smile making its way to the man’s lips. “Hey, uh, I’m gonna go meet with my mom. Will you both be fine?”

Max didn’t say anything, so Neil assumed he had to talk. “Y-Yeah. We’ll be fine.”

Then, a dog pushed its way past David’s legs. He looked down at it for a brief moment before looking back up at the teens. “Well, have fun.” He moved to close the door, but then poked his head back in. “Oh, and Neil?”

“Eh?”

“You’re welcome to spend the night if you want to.” 

Neil nodded as David left. The dog then jumped on the bed. It was tall and brown. It padded on the covers next to Max, then flopped its body onto the plaid sheets. Max extended his hand out and rubbed it against the dogs back.

“Who’s that?” Neil loosened his grip on Max.

“Her name’s Cinnamon.” The dog’s eyes flickered up at Neil. Max slowly took Neil’s hand in his own and dragged it in front of the dog’s nose.

Cinnamon sniffed his hand, even briefly licked it. 

Max moved the nerd’s hand to the top of Cinnamon’s head. He let go and Neil began to pet the dog.

Cinnamon closed her eyes and relaxed her whole body.

“Y’know, usually she’s not this comfortable with strangers.”

Neil made a noise of understanding. 

Another moment of silence. 

“...hey, Neil?”

The brunet looked up. “Yeah?”

“Did uh…” Max looked away. “Did you mean what you said? Back on Friday?”

Neil stopped petting Cinnamon. “Which part?”

Max fumbled with his fingers. “...that you, uh… you… like me.”

“Oh.” A blush crept up Neil’s neck. “Um, w-well… yeah.” Despite him already confessing, he was full of nerves. He was basically confessing a second time. “I thought that was kind of obvious by now…”

Max shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “I thought my mind was playing tricks on me all weekend.” He held himself. “After being lied to and emotionally manipulated with fake ‘I love you’s for two years straight I’m just… cautious. It took a long time for me to start believing David and Gwen when they said it and even now there are some times I have doubts. I know it’s stupid.”

“No, no,” Neil quickly replied. “That’s completely understandable. Your parents are dicks.” That got a chuckle out of Max. “But…” His hand latched onto his own arm. “I was serious when I said that.” He nervously smiled. “I _really_ like you.”

Max smiled. Then his eyes became glassy and Neil thought he was about to start crying again.

“Are you-?”

“I don’t know why…” Max used his blue sleeve to wipe at his eyes. “I think I’m just… overwhelmed.”

“Sorry!” Neil said on impulse.

“No, it’s not... I just… shit, Neil. I’m just really fucking happy.” A bit of his hair fell in front of his face.

The brunet smiled alongside Max. “That’s good.” Neil pushed the stray hair back, cupping Max’s cheek. Max’s hand covered Neil’s. “...can I ask _you_ something?”

“What?”

“After I… confessed, you, uh… you kissed me. Right?” He could see Max freeze. “Did you mean that?”

“I…” Max dropped his hand from Neil’s. “...yeah. ...y’know, I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.”

“Me too.”

“You have?” Max asked incredulously.

“Since the day me and you went to the mall, honestly.”

“I’ve been wanting to do it since, like… the third week of camp.”

Neil blinked. “Holy shit, wait- have you had a crush on me for that long?”

Max’s face burned with red. “Yeah. It’s… surprising those feelings never went away.” Green met blue. “What about you? How long have you… had a crush on me?”

“I think… since I met you.” Neil said earnestly. “But I never… I didn’t realize I did until legitimately September.”

“So, you liked me, you just... didn’t know?”

“I think so.”

Max laughed. 

Then Neil’s phone vibrated. The pair looked at it.

**Ikk: Did u find him?**

“Let me…” Neil gripped his phone and began to answer her.

**I did. He’s safe.**

**Ikk: Where r u?**

**We’re at his house. I’m talking to him right now.**

**Ikk: Let him know i miss him!!!**

Max read the message over Neil’s shoulder. “Not gonna tell her I live with David?”

“Later.” Neil turned his phone off. “She’ll ask questions and stuff and… I don’t want this conversation to be over yet.” He took Max’s hands in his own.

“What do we do from here?” Max questioned.

“I mean, we both like each other. We have for a long time.” Neil reasoned.

A long silence hung in the air.

Finally, the noiret took a breath. “So…” Max rubbed his thumb against Neil’s hand. “What does that make us?” His voice was quiet.

“...what do you _want_ to be?” Neil’s was equally quiet. 

A shy smile. “Oh, I don’t know... maybe... a specific kind of friend? One that starts with ‘boy’? You?”

A breathless laugh. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

They both stared at their hands for a while. Eventually, Max broke the silence. 

“दालचीनी, जाओ।” Cinnamon lifted her head, then her body. She jumped off the bed and exited the room. The door had the tiniest crack in it.

Neil had watched the dog leave. He turned back to Max. He noticed how the other male seemed nervous.

“...hey, um… do you… the uh… the thing that happened in the woods?” 

Neil quirked an eyebrow.

“Y’know… what I did before I ran off….”

“...the kiss?”

“Y-Yes, that!” Max’s face was crimson. “I… what I’m trying to ask you is… do you want to… try that… again?”

The brunet’s face heated, becoming just as red as Max’s. “I…” God, this was so awkward. But, Neil would be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying every second of it. “Y-Yeah… er, uh, yes! P-Please- uh...”

“...you’re cute when you’re flustered.” Max nervously muttered as he leaned a little closer. Neil leaned in a bit too. 

Jones placed a hand on Neil’s jaw, pulling him just a little bit closer to him. They both hesitated, feeling each other’s anticipation grazing over their lips. The boys closed their eyes, hopefully ready for what’s about to happen. 

Neil breathed in, gathering as much courage as he could. 

And then he bridged the gap.

The first thing Neil noticed was how soft the other boy’s lips were, something he barely felt Friday evening. He could sense what tasted like chocolate. Probably from all the brown sweet Max had consumed throughout his life; like it was permanent. But Neil wasn’t complaining.

Neither boy really moved. They just… stayed like that; Max’s hand on Neil’s face and the other in Neil’s hand. Just as Neil felt his oxygen depleting, Max pulled away. 

They looked at each other and Neil swore Max’s eyes were sparkling. The noiret smiled, then laughed a little. Neil started laughing too. 

“That was…” Max put his forehead against Neil’s. “...that was nice.”

“It was.” Neil agreed. “...what do we do from here?” He asked, echoing Max from earlier.

“...maybe… take things slow? I mean… I’ve never really been in a relationship before and… well, we’re young so there’s not much we _can_ do… not that I can think of, anyway.”

“Okay.” Neil quietly agreed. “Yeah. I think… I think we can do that.”

“Yeah.” Max pulled back. They weren’t making any physical contact anymore. 

Neil found himself missing it. _‘This boy…’_ His eyes flickered up at Max. _‘He’s my…_ boyfriend _now.’_ That was… crazy to think about. He began to think about how the others would react. As far as he knew, they never knew he had a crush on Max and he highly doubted they others were around Max enough to realize that he liked him back. 

_When Neil opened his eyes, the first thing he realized was that there was a weight on him. He blearlily blinked, taking in the sun shining through the tent. As much as he could manage without moving, Neil peered down. The extra weight was Max._

‘He had a nightmare last night…’ _He remembered._

_Neil rubbed his eyes, noticing something else: Max was snuggled into Neil’s side. His bear was nowhere in sight and Neil was sure he could feel Max’s leg draped across his own._

_He was about to nudge the kid awake and tell him to get off, but there was something oddly peaceful about Max’s face that would make Neil feel bad if he did. Max never seemed at peace. Ever._

_So… Neil’ll let him have this. Something in him told him Max needed it._

“Hey,” Neil looked up. “Neil?”

“Yeah?”

Max didn’t say anything. Instead, his eyes flickered down at something. Neil thought it might’ve been his lips. A blush was apparent on the noiret’s face as his hands held a part of his blanket tightly to the point where his knuckles had a pinch of white. 

Neil would absolutely be lying if he said he didn’t want to kiss Max again. He looked to Max’s lips. 

But they’d agreed to go slow. 

They shouldn’t rush further into a relationship right now. It was too soon. 

...right?

Max and Neil’s eyes met. Maybe Neil’s mind was playing tricks on him, but he swore Max’s face said the same thing Neil was thinking. 

…

…

…

...fuck it.

Fuck taking it slow.

The teens rushed at eachother and the gap closed again.

* * *

**(4:51 PM)**

“Oh, shut the hell up!” Max pushed Neil off the bed.

“Shit-” Neil landed on the hardfloor, his legs in the air. 

Max crawled to the edge of the bed, peering down with a smile. He squeezed between Neil’s calves. “You alright?”

An idea popped into the brunet’s head. “I will be.” He watched Max cock his head, a little bit of intrigue on his face. Neil pushed himself up, swiftly grabbing Max’s wrist and pulling him down to him. They rolled a little, now to the left of the bed.

Max got himself on his knees. “I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes.”

Neil felt a little bad, but hey, he pushed him off the bed for comparing him to coffee. Dark and bitter but could be sweet if the right thing is added.

Max glanced over at the clock. “I should probably check on the dogs.” He stood. “Wanna come meet them?” He held his hand out for Neil to take.

“Uh- yeah!” Neil scrambled up by himself, but he still took the hand after he was up. Max briefly looked at it before intertwining their fingers. 

_“So…” Preston hummed._

_“...so?”_

_“Max.”_

_“What about him?”_

_“Are you two together?”_

_Neil did a double take. “Wh- no! Why the hell would you think that?”_

_“You hold hands all the time!” Preston exclaimed. “Like this!” He intertwined in his fingers together. “That’s not casual hand holding!”_

_“It’s just hand holding.” Neil looked judgingly at the theatre boy. “We do it when one of us is nervous.” He shrugged. “It’s a comfort thing.”_

_Preston pouted. “Are you sure?”_

_“Positive.”_

Max led Neil out of the room. Neil could hear claws padding against the floor downstairs. The living room had a carpet flooring, so Neil could only assume they were in the dining room or kitchen.

They made it to the bottom. Max pulled Neil into the kitchen.

The three dogs- including Cinnamon, all ran to Max and started jumping on him. 

“हश, मैं तुम्हें खिलाने वाला हूं।” Max let go of Neil’s hand and waltzed over to a cabinet. A beige colored dog followed Max there, a dark grey one instead jumped on Neil, and Cinnamon laid next to the bowls. 

The dark grey dog licked at the nerd’s fingers. _‘At least they’re not biting me…’_ He heard the sound of something clicking in a container and looked up. 

Max turned around, a glass container full of dog food. “आशा, नीचे!”  The grey dog got off and ran to Max. “Calm down, holy shit.” He carried the food over to the bowls. 

“Do they only respond to… whatever language that is?”

“Hindi.” Max popped the lid open. “And no. They just respond the best to Hindi.” As soon as the food went into the bowl, the grey dog started devouring it. “David’s trying to get them to respond one-hundred percent to him, but…” He pet the head of the grey dog. “They love me more so they respond to me better.” He filled the other bowls.

“What about Gwen?”

Max snorted. “All I can say is it’s better than what David can get them to do.” He looked over at his boyfriend and beckoned him over. 

Neil kneeled, the grey dog turning around and pouncing. “Ah- shit-!”

“Asha, I swear to god, don’t eat him, please.”

Neil bit back a joke. “Asha?”

“Yeah.” Max picked Asha off of Neil. “That’s Sumit.” He nodded towards the beige dog. “Don’t eat Neil, he’s mine, okay?” The teen said to Asha in a slight baby voice. He kissed the side of the dog’s head and put her down. Her tail wagged and thumped against the floor.

“She’s happy.”

“Really? How could you tell?” Max said with a hint of sarcasm. “She was the first one I got.” 

Then, Cinnamon trotted up next to Max and nudged his knee with her nose. Max ran his hand down her back. “She was the second. And… well, she’s a therapy dog.” Cinnamon laid her head on Max’s leg. “After talking to officials and stuff, David thought it’d be good to get one.” He seemed to realize something. “That’s probably why he let me get another dog so soon after I got Asha.”

Neil nodded with understanding. “What about him?” He pointed at Sumit.

Max shrugged. “David said he wanted to get another one for Asha to play with since Cinny isn’t much of a player anymore.” He looked over at Sumit, who was messily eating. “He’s been a bitch to train, though.” At that, Sumit shot his head up.

“Yeah, I called you a bitch.” Sumit stuck his tongue out as Cinnamon lifted her head up. “What’re you gonna do, huh?” He patted the ground and Sumit went into a playing position. “What’re you gonna do?” The Akita barked. “Huh?” Max grabbed the sides of the dog’s face and began to pet and kiss his head. “Dummy, dummy goofball.”

Neil smiled. Max’s soft side to animals was fucking adorable. After a few more faux insults, Max let Sumit eat. He turned to Neil. “Wanna go outside?”

“Yeah, sure.” Neil stood up and helped Max up. They exited the house and Max sat on the porch stairs. Neil followed what he did.

The sun was just beginning to set and the air was getting a bit colder. Neil looked over at Max, who was still dressed in a loose sweater and shorts and was barefoot while Neil had a warm sweater, pants, and socks on. “Are you gonna be okay?”

“What does that mean?”

“I mean, are you, like, cold?”

“Nah,” Max answered simply. “I don’t plan to be out here too long, anyway.” He looked down. “...David was right when he said I wasn’t ready for camp.”

Neil kept quiet.

“A lot of the times when I was walking around the house it hurt. Hell, sometimes walking up the stairs made me almost pass out. The heat wouldn’t have been good either. The camp has shitty food, and, well, I really needed to be eating healthily.” He looked up at the sky. “While I understood why I wasn’t allowed to go, I was seriously fucking upset.” He glanced at Neil. “I really wanted to see you guys. Badly.”

“I could imagine.” Neil almost whispered. 

“...Gwen told me you still celebrated my birthday.”

“I did. I just went to the waterfall and played the playlist I titled ‘Max’.”

Max snorted. “You have a playlist named after me?”

“Yeah. It’s got songs that you like and some that I think describe you.”

The noiret propped his arms on his knees. “...can I listen to it later?” 

Neil smiled. “Uh huh.” He looked over at Max and noticed how the boy’s arm was exposed. There were long scars that were going up his arms, but there were thinner, newer ones scattered around. The nerd gently grasped Max’s wrist and pulled the sleeve up further when Max showed no signs of stopping him.

“Dogs.” Max immediately said. “Sumit’s a scratcher.” He locked eyes with Neil’s doubting face. “I promise you, Neil, the only thing I do to myself is my neck. This was the dogs.”

Max’s voice sounded and his face looked completely honest, so Neil decided to believe him when he said he wasn’t harming. “...have you ever?”

“No. I’ve never felt the need to.” Max took his arm back and leaned against Neil’s shoulder. “Fuckin’ hurts though. Sumit hates getting his claws cut.”

“My aunt has a german shepherd. Fucker hates me.” He allowed himself to wrap an arm around Max. “My mom says it’s because _I’m_ the one who’s mean to him, but for the first year I was around him, I showed him nothing but love, and what does he give back? A trip to the hospital because my leg’s bleeding out from getting bitten.”

“Ouch.” Max commented. “Zoey got a newborn rottweiler last year.”

“Does she know?”

“Hm?”

“Does she know about what happened with your parents?”

“I don’t think she knows the details.” The teen answered. “All she knows is my parents have been arrested… I should probably call her. As far as I know, she only knew about the neglect, so…” He sighed. “I haven’t talked to her in a while.”

“Do you think I can meet her?”

“If her mom ever comes here, yeah. She actually wanted to meet you and Nikki.”

A silence fell between them.

Then it was broken when the door to the house across from them opened. Out came a shorter girl with blonde hair and a plain black eyepatch.

 _‘Tabii.’_ Neil hadn’t seen her in a while. He tensed a little, remembering about her obsession over him.

“Hi, Max!” She waved. “Oh, hi Neil!” She walked across the street and stood in front of the two. She looked between the two and Neil thought she was about to become angry.

But she didn’t. Instead, she looked excited. “Oh my god, Max… are you two…?”

“Uh huh.”

Tabii squealed. “See, told you wouldn’t care!” She glanced at Neil. “He doesn’t care right?”

“No, he doesn’t.” Max shifted a bit.

“I can’t wait to tell Erin and Sasha! …Oh, right, I gotta go pick Erin up… uh, see you later Max!” She ran back to her house, hopping into a grey car and driving away.

“...what was that about?”

Max sat up, clearing his throat. “Some time after Dolph’s birthday, Sasha and Pikeman came up to me. We talked a little. Texted a bit too. Eventually Sasha invited me to hang out at her house, so I went and Erin and Tabii were there. I thought they were gonna kill me, honestly. But turns out they wanted to talk about you. Because somehow, someway, they found out I liked you. They wanted to do a fuckin’ makeover and they pulled my bangs back before I could stop them and… yeah. They don’t know exactly what happened- you, David, and Gwen are the only ones who do- but they respect that I don’t want to tell them.”

Max took a breath. “Erin and Tabii reassured me about my eye. Erin said to not give a shit about what other people think. Just uncover my eyes and go about my day. Tabii… she said for the longest time she thought it was her eye that you didn’t like about her, but after a while- and after Sasha and Erin were _finally_ able to get it through her head- she realized you literally just didn’t like her. That’s when she gave Billy a chance and, well, they’ve been together for a year now. She told me you wouldn't care about what my eye looked like but… I didn’t believe her.”

“Well, she was right. I don’t care what your eye looks like.”

“I know that _now_.” Max playfully shoved Neil. They laughed. When that died down, Max spoke again. “I should start on dinner.” He hummed. 

“You start?”

“Yeah. I make it every Monday.” He stood and stretched. “Gwen and I hated how David refused to let us help around the house so we ended up compromising with him.” Neil stood too. “Gwen cooks on Friday’s, I do on Monday’s.” Max pushed the door open and Neil followed.

Max entered the kitchen and opened the back door. Cinnamon, Asha, and Sumit ran out, Max shutting the door behind them. “So… are you staying… or?”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No,” Max took a box of lasagna sheets out from a cabinet. “I was just wondering.”

“...can I help?”

“If you want.” Max bent down and pulled a glass baking pan out. “Uh, can you get the mozzarella from the fridge?”

Neil turned to the refrigerator and searched it for what Max needed. He took what looked like a bag of the right cheese and handed it to Max. “I think that’s it?”

Max examined the bag. “Yeah, it is. Thanks.”

The brunet nodded, his eyes lingering on Max. 

Then he noticed it.

“Oh shit.” Neil carefully took hold of Max’s face. He lifted it up and analyzed his neck.

“What?”

On the left side of his neck were a few light bruises that weren’t there earlier. 

“How dark are they?” Max questioned, knowing what Neil was looking at.

“N-Not that dark.”

“Mm.” Max took his head back, rubbing at his neck. “You should check your own. There’s a bathroom upstairs.”

Neil left the kitchen and ran up the stairs. He entered a bathroom with dark blue mosaic tiles. The nerd turned to the mirror. He hesitantly pulled the collar of his sweater down. 

And, for once, he was glad that he wore sweaters. The hickies on his neck were definitely darker than Max’s and there were more of them. Oh, he was glad he didn’t have gym anymore. With the collar up, unless someone looked extremely hard, no one should be able to see it.

He sighed and exited, shuffling down the stairs and into the kitchen to find that Max had almost finished setting everything into the pan.

“How bad is it?”

“Darker.” Neil responded.

“Sorry not sorry.” Max smiled.

“I’m lucky I wear sweaters.”

“I’m lucky you suck at sucking.”

Neil tried to not take that wrongly.

* * *

**(7:03 PM)**

“Thanks.” David smiled, taking the heated plate from his foster son.

“Yeah, yeah. Go watch your dumb nature documentaries or whatever.”

David didn’t really react to what Max said, instead, the man actually went to the living room and flipped on the TV.

“Does he actually-?”

“Yeah, he does. Once, he watched one that had a ton of misinformation and he genuinely got pissed off.”

“Ouch.”

“Mhm.” Max yawned. “Shit, I’m exhausted.”

“How much did you sleep last night?”

“Bold of you to assume I slept.”

“Max.”

The noiret leaned against the wall. “I’m currently running on thirty hours without sleep. Does that answer your question?

“You’re going to bed.”

“That’s what I was planning on.”

“C’mon.” Neil took Max’s hand and led him upstairs to the latter’s room. Max let go of Neil’s hand when they entered and waltzed to his closet. He took out a pastel green baggy shirt. Without any hesitation, Max pulled his blue sweater over his head, his bare skin visible. 

Neil stifled a gasp. Max’s back had obvious scars all over the place. No bruises, though.

Max caught him staring. “Shit, sorry, I forgot that…” He quickly covered himself with the green top. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Neil shook his head. “Just… caught me off-guard.”

Max sighed, then flopped onto his bed. Neil sat beside him as the shorter male slipped under the covers.

“...the others probably will have to know, huh?” Max asked in a hushed voice.

“They don’t _have_ to know…”

“They deserve to.” Max countered softly. “Just like you did. Like how Nikki does.” He turned on his side, facing Neil. “Speaking of… if you’re not staying the night, you should probably leave now.”

_‘If you’re not staying the night.’_ Neil looked down at his now boyfriend, who had rolled onto his other side, seemingly grabbing something from the other side. 

_‘David said it was fine…’_ The brunet glanced at his phone. _‘Candy’ll understand.’_

“...I’ll stay.”

“...you will?” 

Neil looked back to see Max holding a stuffed bear, one that looked too familiar. Mr. Honeynuts had been somewhat repaired and looked a lot cleaner. Neil almost thought it was a different toy. Behind the bear, Max was looking up at the taller teen with wondrous but timid and soft eyes.

“Yeah,” Neil confirmed. “I’m gonna stay.” He pulled his jean covered legs up onto the bed.

“You’re not sleeping in that, are you?”

“Well, I don’t exactly have any clothes here, do I?”

Max hummed, a smirk painting his lips. “Well… you do have one thing…”

“...my sweater?”

“Yeah.” The noiret smiled. “In the closet. Should be easy to find.” Neil stood and followed Max’s direction, opening the closet with ease. Max had been right, he found his old sweater quickly. “At the bottom of the dresser, there’s pajama pants that are too big for me. They might fit you.”

With the sweater draped over his arm, Neil moved over to the dark wooden dresser. He got on his knees and pulled on the black knobs. “Uh… which one’s oversized?”

Max leaned off the edge of the bed, looking down into the clothes. “Those dark blue ones are.” He yawned. 

Neil gripped the blue fabric and went back to the closet, closing himself into it. He couldn’t see shit, but if he felt around, he’d be fine, right? He pulled his black sweater top over his head and pushed it to the side. He felt around the yellow sweater- it was not a turtleneck and it wasn’t stuffy, which Neil was a bit grateful for. He tugged his jeans off and tossed it over with his black top, favoring to feel for the strings of the blue pants and pull them on. 

They fit.

He hoped everything was on right. Neil pushed the closet door open, grabbing his clothes- and swinging it over his shoulder to hide the marks- from the corner and exiting. When he was out, he noticed that Max had lifted the covers next to him.

The noiret was on his phone. “Laundry room is downstairs. Ask David.”

Neil half-nodded and exited. He lumbered down the stairs, hoping that David wouldn’t take his offer away. He wouldn't, right?

Neil peered around the corner, seeing David texting someone. “...David?”

The redhead looked up at the sound of his name. “Oh, yes Ne-?” He analyzed the teen’s outfit. “Are you staying?” Neil nodded. “Great!” David grinned. “Hey, let me put those in the laundry.” Neil was about to protest him getting up, but the man was already on his feet. 

Neil positioned himself so David couldn’t see the hickies, watching the man take his clothes and enter another room. “I’ll get them done by morning.” He assured the nerd when he came back out. “...did you… did you talk to Max?”

“I did.” Neil said and a question popped into his mind. “...why…why didn’t you tell us? When Max came back he said you were supposed to tell us.”

“...well…” David looked elsewhere. “I was going to but… I thought… I thought you and Nikki deserved to know the most… and then you didn’t show up a-and it didn’t feel right.” He looked back to Neil. “...besides, you were all going to be in the same class and I figured… I figured you’d all sort it out.”

“Well that worked, didn’t it?” Neil bit. “Nikki and I spent _weeks_ trying to figure it all out. We thought… we thought he was still with his parents. We thought he could…” Neil breathed. “We thought he could’ve _died_ , David.” 

David looked away, refusing to make eye contact. “Max told me after that first class that he didn’t want me to say anything.” He whispered. “He thought that maybe… maybe if he pretended like nothing was wrong, nothing _would_ be wrong. He thought you wouldn’t notice.”

Neil scoffed. “Well, I _did_.” 

“He did too.” The redhead coughed. “Er, I mean, he realized you realized something was wrong.” He clarified. “...despite that, he’s still trying to pretend.”

“...he’s planning on telling everyone else.”

“He is?”

“I think so.”

David actually smiled. “I hope he does.”

“...me too.” Neil hesitantly retreated up the stairs. He quietly re-entered Max’s bedroom, the boy… asleep, it seemed. Neil approached the bed and carefully got onto it. He laid on his back, staring at the ceiling. 

Things were quiet.

**Ikk: Are u guys ok?**

_‘I forgot to tell her…’_

**Yes. I’m staying the night.**

**Ikk: Oh**

**Ikk: His parents r cool with it?**

Neil bit his lip, considering telling her that…

**Yes. There’s a lot to explain. We’ll tell you tomorrow.**

**Ikk: U sure ur ok**

**Ikk: ?**

Neil looked over at Max, an idea forming. He aimed his phone at the teen, snapping a photo. He sent it.

**Ikk: No marks?**

**Only one. Wasn’t from parents.**

**Ikk: What were his parents like?**

**Tomorrow.**

**Ikk: ??**

**Please just wait until tomorrow.**

It took a while for Nikki to respond. 

**Ikk: Okay**

**Ikk: But the moment his parents wanna hurt him im gonna go beast mode**

Neil smiled. 

**Thanks.**

Even though she wouldn’t have to. 

He let his head fall back, a sigh leaving his throat. 

“...you alright?”

Startled, Neil turned his head to see Max staring at him.

“Uh, yeah! Yeah, I’m… just thinking.”

Max blinked. “Was it about-?”

“No, it wasn't about you.” He reassured Max. “I just told Nikki that she’d find out everything tomorrow.”

“Mm.” Max hummed. “...holy shit, that’s dark.” He lazily pointed towards Neil’s neck. “Did David see?”

Neil’s hand ran against his neck. “Don’t think so. If he did, he didn’t say anything.”

Max yawned. “Hope he doesn’t. He’d lecture both of us for so fuckin’ long…”

“Yeah, but would you listen?”

The black-haired boy snickered. “No.” He yawned again. 

“Go to sleep.” Neil poked the bear. 

Max pursed his lips. “I don’t want to.”

“You were literally saying that you wanted to sleep earlier.”

“Well, now I don’t want to.” The noiret yawned once more. 

Neil chuckled. “ _That_ suggests otherwise.”

Max lazily blinked before closing his eyes. His features relaxed.

“Good night.” The brown-haired teen whispered. He assumed Max had passed out as there was no response. 

Neil hesitantly pulled the covers over him. There was a sheet underneath the blue plaid duvet that was white and it felt like silk. He turned on his side once it almost touched his shoulder. He gazed at the other teen’s face, a smile coming to his face.

Max was safe.

And Neil swore he’d stay that way.

* * *

**January 14th, 2020 (8:29 AM)**

Neil blinked awake. The first thing he noticed was that his vision was a bit darker than it should’ve been. He backed up a bit, realizing what was obscuring his view.

Then he registered something in his arms.

During the hours where the boys slept in the same bed, they ended up spooning. Neil being the big one and Max being the small one.

He quietly pulled back, wondering if Max would wake up from the removal of contact.

He didn’t seem to stir, so Neil sat up and pushed his legs off the side of the mattress. He picked his phone up and saw he had a message from Preston.

**Tues, Jan 14, 6:47 AM**

**Preston: Nik told me ur at Maxs**

**Preston: He ok?**

That’s when Neil realized the time. School had already started.

_‘I guess we’re not going to school…’_

He stood up, glancing at Max again, then exited the bedroom. He walked down the stairs, assuming Max had coffee somewhere. He entered the kitchen.

“Nice necklace.”

Neil jumped, turning to the source of the voice.

“Uh, hey, Gwen!” His hand flew up to his neck.

“I saw already, kid.” Gwen sipped the liquid from her mug.

Neil let his hand fall. “...is there… any left?” He pointed to her drink.

“Yeah. It’s black.”

_‘Perfect.’_ “Thanks…”

“How’d you get those, anyway?” Gwen nonchalantly asked.

Neil slowly poured the dark colored drink into a plain white mug. “Uh…” He turned to face the woman, face red. “Well…”

“You two didn’t fuck, right?”

Neil choked. “Wh- NO!“ He exclaimed. “We’re fourteen! _Waaaayyyy_ too young for that! Why the hell would you even _think_ of that?!”

“Well, a teenager going through puberty comes downstairs, out of my son’s room, with hickies all over his neck. Whom of which, also spent the night. In my son’s room.” She sipped again. “Also, that’s exactly _why_ I’m asking. You’re fourteen.” She stared at Neil. “ _You_ almost fifteen. When’s your birthday again?”

Neil relaxed. “The twenty-fourth.”

“Are you doing anything?”

The brunet carefully made his way to the table where the woman was. He placed his coffee down and sat. “Uh, well, I’m not sure. Usually Nikki would force me out of the house and all nine of us would spend the day at the mall, then go back to my house.”

“...but?”

“But Nikki and Nerris aren’t really on the best of terms and Max is here. Things are going to be… awkward.” He took his first sip. “And I don’t know if Max is going to tell them everything before or after that.”

“He’s gonna finally tell them?”

“Believe so, yeah.”

Gwen shook her head. “David was supposed to tell you last summer.”

“I know. He told me.”

“I kept trying to get him to tell them but he was stubborn as shit.”

“If I went he would’ve told us.”

“Hey,” The woman said firmly. “Do _not_ blame yourself.”

“I’m not.” He totally was. 

Silence.

“...you want French toast?”

The teen hummed. “...yeah, sure.”

Gwen stood, fluffing out her white robe. “Is Max still asleep?”

“When I left he was.” Neil hesitantly stood as well.

“...what _did_ happen? I mean, obviously something with feelings happened, right?”

Neil followed Gwen to the cabinet. “Yeah. Uh… we, um, we’re... together… now.”

“Fucking finally.” Gwen mumbled. “Hey, can you open up the bread?”

The brunet nabbed the loaf bag and untwisted the tie, a little baffled by how easily the woman took the information. “Did you know?”

“Ever since your guys’ first year. You might’ve never noticed it, but if someone could kill with lovey-dovey looks, you would’ve dropped dead around the time Dolph brought all that candy to the camp. Maybe even earlier than that.”

“And you didn’t say anything to me?”

“Hey now,” The redheaded woman said defensively, “I learned not to interfere with relationships after the whole social fiasco. Plus Max would have taken my head if he knew I told you.” She pulled an egg out among other ingredients. “In the cupboard there’s a little thing of cinnamon...” Gwen pointed up. 

Neil searched the place Gwen pointed to. He pulled the cinnamon out. As he handed the small bottle to the woman, he noticed the lack of claws hitting the ground. “Where’s the dogs?”

“Outside. It’s how we get their morning energy out.” She cracked the egg. “Sumit in the morning is a goddamn nightmare.” She shook her head. “Which…” Gwen glanced at the oven clock. “Can you let Cinnamon in?”

“Just her?”

“Just her.” Gwen affirmed.

Neil moved around the ex-counselor to the back door. He peered out into the yard, seeing Sumit biting on what was maybe a large branch, Asha running in circles, and Cinnamon pacing around the porch. He pushed the door open and Cinnamon padded into the room. Neil closed it behind her.

“Thanks.” Gwen said, mixing everything together. 

They fell into another brief silence. 

“What, um… what was Max like?” Neil found himself asking.

“What do you mean?”

“Like… you’ve lived with him for a year now… was anything… _different_ about him?”

Gwen stopped mixing to think. “He… well, he wasn’t as… fierce. Max… god, sometimes I wonder just what the hell his parents put him through. He never directly told us what happened. The most we ever got was the few doctor reports we looked at.” She resumed. “Did he tell _you_ anything?”

“Not really? I found out because… well, I found out through the doctor reports too.”

“How?” Gwen cocked an eyebrow. 

Neil panicked for a moment. _‘This is Gwen.’_ He reminded himself. She wouldn’t get Preston in trouble, right? “Preston.” He stated, swallowing. “He stole files from the hospital he helps out at.”

Gwen paused for a second. “Damn.” Was all she said.

Neil glanced around. “David’s, uh… David’s not here.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Gwen snickered. “He’s at the school because, well, he’s a teacher?”

“He didn’t wake me or Max up.”

“He figured Max would want the day off.” The redhead shrugged. “You too. He called your parents to let them know. I think they were okay with it? David was kinda vague.”

Neil made a noise of understanding as Gwen started soaking the bread. 

“Did he have nightmares?”

“Oh, you have _no_ idea.” Gwen huffed. “It started out being almost every night. It got to a point where he refused to sleep. Or, that’s what David told me. When I went to visit, Campbell informed me of how awful the kid was sleeping.” She dryly chuckled. “Speaking of, teaching Campbell how to actually take care of children was a fucking nightmare all on it’s own. I spent a whole night just trying to teach him how to hold Max while he was sleeping! I’m amazed he didn’t wake up.” She soaked the last slice. “But, he doesn’t have them too much anymore.”

Neil slowly nodded. 

“Oh, also,” Bread was thrown into a pan. “He totally talked about you a lot.”

Red. “H-He did?”

“Remember that day you two went to the mall? The moment he was in the car, he said ‘I want to fuckin’ kiss him’. He thought I didn’t hear it, but I did. And I teased the shit out of him.” 

“...we almost kissed that night.”

“He told me.” The bread was flipped. 

Then, steps were heard coming down the stairs. Gwen glanced at Neil and smirked, her head nodding towards the steps. 

Neil pushed himself away from the counter and he poked his head into the living room. He saw Max rubbing at his blinded eye. “Hey.” He said, approaching the noiret.

“Hi.” Max smiled softly. It was a smile that Max didn’t make often. Only on Saturday morning’s when he stayed at the siblings’ house. Neil knew damn well he was privileged as fuck to see it.

“Gwen’s making breakfast.”

“I’m blind, not anosmic.”

“I knew that.” 

Max snorted. “No shit.” He hesitantly slipped his hand into Neil’s. Neil tightened his grasp in a way to tell Max that it was okay to hold his hand. The shorter male dragged his boyfriend back into the kitchen. 

“Morning.” Gwen greeted.

“Morning.” Max replied, stealing a bit of coffee from the pot on the counter. He glanced at the pan on the stove. “You know me so well.”

Gwen shrugged, though a smile was present on her face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Max turned to Neil. “Can I um…” He put a hand on Neil’s shoulder and Neil awkwardly nodded. Honestly, he didn’t know what Max wanted to do.

Then, Max leaned closer to Neil’s face and planted a light kiss to the brunet’s cheek. He pulled back, his expression buried in embarrassment as he turned away.

“Aw, that’s cute.” Gwen commented.

“Shut the hell up.”

Gwen snickered.

* * *

**(11:02 AM)**

**Ikk: Did u and max skip today?**

**Ikk: Are u okay?**

**Ikk: Did smth happen with his parents???**

Neil mentally facepalmed. Nikki had been texting him throughout the morning and he had been ignoring her. Not intentionally, of course. But he was sure the poor girl was having a heart attack.

**We’re fine. Sorry, Max and I slept in and were eating.**

While he was here, he might as well add something.

**Also, after school ask David to take you to Max’s. We’ll explain everything.**

_‘Almost everything…’_ Neil thought.

Nikki’s reply was almost instantaneous. 

**Ikk: Ok**

**Ikk: Promise ur safe?**

**I promise.**

His sister didn’t reply after that.

“Nikki’s coming over after school.” 

“Mm.” Max nodded his head, his gaze still fixated on the TV. The pair had rifled through a bunch of Gwen’s old movies and ended up finding a few horror ones. Like the _Saw_ series. Neil had been trying to keep his mind off the gorey movie, but every now and then he found that the traps interested him a bit.

“Look, look at how fucking slow he’s going!” Max gestured aimlessly at the TV. “Just stick your damn hand through the pipes!” 

“What’s he doing?” Neil hadn’t been paying attention.

“The dude’s gotta stick his hand through a bunch of pipes to get a key to stop the woman from freezing to death.”

“He’s not doing anything.” 

“Exactly!” Max exclaimed. 

Neil felt like there was a bit more context, but he didn’t necessarily care that much.

* * *

**(2:28 PM)**

Nikki would be here any minute and Max hadn’t stopped pacing around his room. 

“It’s just Nikki.”

“I know.” Max huffed. “It’s just… it’s not easy to just _tell_ someone about this kind of shit. Not for me, at least.”

Neil was seated on Max’s bed, watching the teen as he tried to mentally prepare himself. He tried his best to ignore the feeling of concealer on his neck, courtesy of Gwen, that hid the dark marks.

“You told me.”

“Because you were easier to tell!” Max cried. 

Neil cocked his head in confusion. What did he mean by ‘easier to tell’?”

“I just… I feel safer when I’m with you?” Max attempted to explain. “It’s like… you’re a safe haven?”

Before either male could say anything else, the front door was heard opening and Neil could just see the exact moment Max’s anxiety spiked. “Fuckfuckfuck-”

Neil stood, quickly grabbing Max’s hands. “Heyheyhey, you’ll be fine!” Seeing as Max was still trembling a little, the nerd decided to lean in and lightly kiss the younger male’s forehead. Although Max tensed at first, it seemed to actually calm him down a bit. “I’ll be right here. I can tell her stuff if you don’t feel comfortable, okay?”

“I don’t want you to have to…”

“Whatever makes you comfortable. I’m here.”

There was a knock at the door.

The noiret removed his hands from Neil’s. He looked back to Neil, then took a breath. “...come in.” 

The door creaked open and a girl with green hair entered the room. Upon seeing Max, she smiled, but then her expression instantly changed. She silently approached Max, her hands slowly rising to the boy’s cheeks. She stared at his eye. “Where?” She whispered. 

“W-What?”

“Where are they? Your parents?” Stone cold.

Max glanced at Neil. 

“Locked up.” Neil said.

“What?”

“My parents.” Max continued for the brunet. “They’re in jail. They…” He sighed. “They’ve been arrested for over a year now.”

“What?” She repeated. “But… wait, David unlocked the front door...” The gears seemed to be turning. “Is… wait wait wait, is this David’s house? Are you living with him? ...is he, like, your dad?”

“Sort of?” Max took the girl’s wrist and led her to the bed. Neil followed. He sat the two of them down. “Foster dad.” Max explained. “When… the last time I was in the hospital, he was approved to start fostering me. 

“Hospital?”

The noiret nervously looked back to the nerd. Neil put a hand to his shoulder. “Take your time.”

“Yeah, take your time, Max.” Nikki reassured. 

Neil was glad she was being patient with him.

* * *

**(3:56 PM)**

It was difficult to hear Max retell his story. It was probably more difficult for Max to _tell_ the story. 

But he did leave out a few parts or left things vague. He’d left out the majority or his time with David and a few minor hospital trips. 

And he had given zero indication whatsoever that he ever had feelings for Neil during this time. But it wasn’t like that was an important detail. Really, it wasn’t. 

Nikki sat with her legs crossed on the foot of the bed. Her hands were grappling her sock-covered feet as she processed everything. Her lips tightened and her knuckles turned white every now and then. It was a similar reaction to Neil's. 

“...Max?”

“...yes?”

“I don’t care.”

Both Max and Neil looked at her in confusion. What did she mean?

“What?” Max stared at her. 

“I don’t care that your parents are in jail.” Pink eyes stared at the noiret with such an intensity, it made Neil flinch. “I want them _fucking_ dead.”

Max was silent, staring at Nikki. Neil couldn’t see his face, but when Nikki’s expression changed to one of concern, the brunet hesitantly touched Max’s shoulder. 

As soon as his hand made contact, Max yelped- or was it a scream?- and flinched hard enough to the point he threw himself off the bed. The siblings immediately poked their heads off the mattress, looking down at the noiret who looked absolutely terrified.

“Heyheyheyhey,” Neil quickly joined the boy on the floor, hovering his hands over the other’s shoulder and wrist. 

“What’s wrong?” Nikki frantically asked. She looked like she wanted to reach out, but was afraid to. 

Neil carefully placed his hand on Max’s wrist. Max’s green eyes flickered up at Neil, but he didn’t recoil. Instead, he shut his eyes and tried to relax.

“Breathe…” Neil softly spoke.

Max’s shaking frame eventually slowed to a stop. “Okay.” He whispered. “Okay. I… I’m fine.” He stood, using the bed for support to help himself up and climbed onto it.

“I’m sorry.” Max refused to make eye contact with the girl. “It’s just… your...”

Confusion was written all over Nikki’s face. Neil was puzzled as well. What did he mean by that? The nerd looked up at his sister. Was it the intense stare? He’d seen kids and adults look at Max like that before. He never reacted like that. Was it because he was more vulnerable right now? Was it because it was Nikki, a friend of his? He could’ve sworn he’d made the same face to Max just a few days ago. What was it…?

When their eyes met, he realized. “Your eyes.” Neil spoke.

“What about them?”

“They’re pink.”

“Why… what does that…?”

“His father.”

And then Nikki seemed to realize as well. “Oh… _oh_ , oh, I am so sorry, Max! I… I shouldn’t… I-”

Max lifted his hand. “Stop it.” He didn’t raise his head.

Nikki was silent for a moment. “...I-I can get contacts.” She spouted. “Get, uh, green- no, wait, your mom…”

“Stop, Nikki.”

“I can get blue!”

“Nikki-”

“Maybe grey? Could match Ered...”

“You don’t-”

“Brown wouldn’t be bad!”

“Listen-”

“Or yellow? Maybe purple, like-”

“FUCKING STOP.” The noiret's head shot up, his gaze burning. “Can you just fucking listen to me?!”

The girl went completely quiet. 

“You don’t have to change your appearance for me.” He averted his eyes. “That… that isn’t fair to you. You shouldn’t change just for me. I’d hate myself more if you did.” He breathed. “I… look, there’s obviously things I left out. Like how I’m… how I’m still recovering.” 

Max turned his body so he could see both of his friends. “Physically wise, I’m mostly fine since…” He gestured to his neck. “But mentally and emotionally? I’m still as fucked up as ever.”

Neil wished Max would’ve told them sooner. They’d drop anything and everything to help him. He hoped he knew that. 

“Trust issues, trauma, nightmares, all that shit.” Max tugged on his own sleeve. “It _has_ gotten better, but…”

The green-haired girl reached out, but immediately stopped in her tracks when Max’s eyes moved a little too quick to her hand. “...we’re here.”

“I know.”

“...would…” Nikki bit her lip, seemingly unsure if what she was about to ask was okay. “Would it be okay if we hugged… you?”

“...yeah.” Max slowly nodded. “That’s fine.”

With both hesitation and anticipation, Maxwell brought the youngest teen into an embrace. She reached out to Neil in an effort to pull him into the embrace as well. He obliged.

The hug was light at first, but then all three of their grips tightened as if one small slip would cause them to lose each other. 

Neil and Nikki made eye contact, a nonverbal agreement being created. 

They’d never let anyone hurt Max ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're finally together holy shit.  
> Max: *tells his traumatic past*  
> Neil: aw man that sucks hey you're cute wanna kiss  
> I seriously debated whether or not I should keep the hickey stuff in since... their age. And I can assure you making out is the furthest they're going to go and this might be the only mention of it.


	14. Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The others find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Burn-out and writer's block suck ass.

“She might love them more than you.” Neil commented. The boys were observing Nikki playing with the dogs from the couch.

They’d already decided that the siblings would be spending the night. Candy agreed to it immediately, but Carl was a bit more reluctant. Didn’t take much convincing.

Though, Neil didn’t want to think about that phone call. It made him a little mad every time. 

Turns out, Candy and Carl knew. They knew that Max was with David since the beginning of the year. The first sleepover. 

But he also knew he couldn’t blame them. Neither Neil nor Nikki ever confided in them about any of it. But he wanted to be mad at _someone_.

While in his thoughts, he almost missed Max putting his hand over Neil’s. The nerd blinked, looking down to the other boy. 

“How long until someone realizes?” The noiret whispered.

“Depends.” Neil replied, knowing what Max was referring to. “How obvious are we gonna be?”

“Mm… maybe not super obvious but… who do you think’s gonna notice first?”

“Nikki.” Neil said then shook his head. “Wait, maybe Preston. He’s got an eye for that kind of stuff.”

Max laughed under his breath. “Yeah, probably.”

They watched as Nikki played an aggressive round of tug-of-war with Sumit. 

“I can’t believe I got away with the hickies.” Max hummed. “You’d think she’d notice they weren’t normal bruises.”

“You would.”

“Max?” The girl called over. “I think the dogs need to go out.”

“Then take them out.” Max called back. The couple heard the back door click open, then close.

“...how am I supposed to tell them?” 

“Hm?”

“How am I supposed to tell the others? It was difficult enough for me to tell you guys. So, how the hell am I going to tell them? Especially Nerris. I doubt she wants to listen to me.”

“We’ll make her, then.”

Max sat upright. “What do you mean?”

“Well, if I’m right, the others have practice or something after school tomorrow. Preston’s got drama and Ered’s got a practice volleyball game. I’m pretty sure Dolph’s staying after to finish an art project and Space Kid will probably be with him, because they’re almost always together. Uh… Nikki might go watch Ered.” Neil counted. “Nerris might have a D&D session. We can ask Harrison to go with her so he can stay after too.”

Max slowly nodded. “That leaves Nurf.”

“Right. Football practice.”

Max snorted. “Of course he’d play football.”

“Yeah. Uh, anyway, if you want to tell them, tomorrow might be your best shot at doing it all at once. Everyone has to clear the school by six and most practices end at four or five. We can meet in David’s classroom. He’ll let us in, right?”

“Probably.” Max sighed, pulling his legs close. “How’d uh… how’d you guys find out everything, anyway?”

“I never told you?”

“No. Never did.”

“Oh. Well, uh… Preston’s mom works at a hospital and he helps out a lot. I think you know that, don’t you?”

Max nodded. “Yeah. That was where I saw him.”

“Preston helps his mom there. One day he was told to go get some files for a girl with the same last name as you. And he saw a file cabinet with your name on it.” He watched as Max pondered. “So he took some of them. And he gave them to me.” He rubbed at his neck, careful not to smudge the concealer. “I think I was the only one who was supposed to see them, but… Nikki walked in while I was looking at them and we read them together. Then she told Ered and Preston told Harrison. But they didn’t really say too much, I don’t think.”

Max heaved a sigh. “At least _you_ know how to keep your damn mouth shut.”

“Hey, they were just concerned.”

“I know, Neil.” Max crossed his arms and melted into the back of the couch. “Still, though. Keep your fucking mouth shut about…” He sighed. “Nevermind.” 

A silence.

Max huffed. “Fuck it. Yeah, I’ll tell them tomorrow.”

“You will?”

“Yeah. Better to get it over with now. Plus you said tomorrow might be my only shot at doing it all at once and I do _not_ want to have to tell the story over and over again.”

“Yeah… uh, I’m gonna text Preston, Harrison, and Ered to tell them about the plan. Is that okay?”

“Mhm, it’s fine. Just… don’t mention too much?”

“Course.” 

**Tues, Jan 14, 5:03 PM**

**Wanted to let you guys know that tomorrow after school and after your guys’ activities, meet in David’s classroom. Max is going to explain everything.**

**Harrison: What if we don’t have an activity**

**Accompany someone.**

**Does Nerris have a D &D game tomorrow?**

**Harrison: Yeah, she does**

**Could you go with her to that? If she knows it’s about Max she might not go and we need everyone there.**

**Harrison: I can do that**

**Thank you.**

**Harrison: By the way, is he ok?**

**He’s fine. Thanks for being concerned.**

**Preston: Oh so u answer him and not me**

**Shut up. You were at school.**

**Preston: Didnt stop u from answering Nikki >:(**

**I forgot.**

**Preston: MmMmmM**

**Preston: Fine accepted ❛’ _’❛**

**Preston: Just make sure he stays fine**

**Harrison: And tell him we’re all ears**

**Preston: YES do that!!**

Neil nudged the noiret and showed him his messages.

“I still don't understand.”

“Huh?”

“Like, fine, I can understand you two, But them? Why are they so… welcoming? It wasn’t like I was close to them.”

_Harrison twirled his small magician wand. “...what do you think Max is doing right now?”_

_Neil huffed. “I don’t know.” Why bring him up?_

_“But what do you_ think _he’s doing?”_

_“_ I don’t know _.”_

_“...you think he’s okay?”_

_Neil paused. Honestly? No. No, he didn’t think the kid was okay. It’d been over a full year since he’d heard anything from the boy and Neil’s concerns were still only growing. “Why would you ask that?”_

_Harrison shrugged. “I can feel his aura.”_

_Neil scoffed at that._

_“I’m serious! Everyone has this aura to them and I… I feel him slipping away.”_

_“Maybe it’s because you haven’t seen him in a long time.”_

_“I…” Harrison bit his lip. “Maybe.”_

_Then the door of the classroom creaked open and Nerris popped her head in. “Your, uh, your mom’s here.”_

_“Oh.” Harrison slowly stood from his stool. “Okay. Uh, see you Monday, Neil.”_

_“Yeah.” Neil replied dryly. “Hey, good luck.”_

_Perel nodded. “I really hope this works.”_

_“It will.” Nerris said before Neil could. “You’ve been practicing with my stuff. You managed to make Snarky come back.”_

_“Yeah, but that’s a cat! It might not be the same for a human being…”_

 _“You’re going to do fine.” Neil piped up._

_Harrison sighed. “...hopefully.”_

Max ran a hand through his hair. “It really doesn’t make sense to me.”

_“It’s so frustrating!” Preston ranted, throwing the script into the air. “No one fits the bill!_ No one! _” He shrieked._

_“What’s the audition for?” Nikki questioned, her arm dangling off the crate she was laying on. Neil tried to stay out of reach of her swaying hand._

_“The school’s only allowing me to do the basic play of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and I need a wolf!”_

_“Still don’t understand why I can’t be the wolf.” Nikki complained. “I’m perfect for the role!”_

_“No, you’re not!” Preston countered. “The wolf in this is composed, stoic, and a little dark. He’s a little snarky sarcastic asshole, too.”_

_Nikki snorted. “That sounds just like Ma-” She stopped. Any and every movement of hers froze. “...that sounds just like those emo kids at the back of the cafeteria.” She slowly sat up._

_Preston gripped a page of the script, suddenly calm. “...y’know that would explain why…” Preston shook his head. “The wolf is supposed to be a misunderstood loner. Maybe… maybe I based it off of…” He sighed. “If only he were here.”_

_“If only he were here.” Neil echoed. Now he definitely had to go see the play._

“They’ve always cared.” Neil spoke. “They… it wasn’t just them, either. Harrison… he was always saying how he could feel you. Like you were still there. But around spring of seventh grade he said he felt you disappearing. Fading out.”

“Was that 2018?”

“Uh…” Neil counted in his head. “Yeah, it was.”

“...that was around when this,” the noiret gestured to his eye, “happened.”

“Oh.” Neil quietly whispered. “Um, well, sometimes the others would bring you up. It was a lot more common in the earlier days. At first, no one spoke ill of you. Then… well, I don’t remember who started it,” He really didn’t. “But eventually you were just a name we didn’t bring up.”

“Wow. I feel so loved.”

“You-”

Max silenced him with a hand. “I know.”

The brunet lifted the noiret’s hand off his lips. “ _I_ still talked about you. With Nikki. But eventually that stopped too.”

“I feel,” Max clicked his tongue, “so loved.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

Neil was about to let it go, but then he had an idea. Yeah, what he was about to do was a bit cliché and predictable, but he didn’t care. “Mm... alright.” He positioned himself so that he was facing Max.

Max looked at the brunet, a bit confused and maybe a little intrigued. 

Neil took both of Max’s hands and wasted no time crashing his lips into the shorter boy’s. Max hesitated, but quickly kissed back, his hands removing themselves from Neil’s to instead cup the nerd’s face. He shifted a bit closer, putting their bodies adjacent. 

Just before Max could move further, the boys heard the back door click open and claws hit the tiled floor. Max practically jumped off his boyfriend, sitting himself in the same spot he was in before Nikki had even gone out. 

“Sumit’s a fighter.” Nikki huffed, emerging from the kitchen and raising her arm to show off a bleeding cut.

“Yeah. Yeah, he is.” Max squeaked, face blazing red from either what was going on moments before or from almost getting caught. Maybe both.

Nikki didn’t seem to notice. “Do you have anything I can cover this up with? I don’t want the dogs to lick it then try to eat me for more.”

“Uh, yeah. In the bathroom.” Max stood. “I can…” The pair disappeared into a bathroom that was underneath the stairs.

Neil sat there, his fingers touching his lips for a brief moment before scrolling aimlessly on his phone.

* * *

**(8:00 PM)**

“Ooh! Look at this!” Nikki cheered, holding _Hello Neighbor_ in her hands. “We should totally play this!” She placed it in a pile.

“That’s the eleventh game you’ve put out. We can’t play them all.”

“We can if we stay up all night!” Max called over as he was searching for extra controllers. “Motherfucker, I know they’re here somewhere…”

“Please, you’re both physically incapable of staying up more than twenty-four hours.” _‘Well… Nikki can’t.’_

Max snorted, not correcting the young scientist. “And _you_ can?”

“You’d be surprised.” Nikki giggled. She turned her attention back to the game shelf. She gasped. “You have _Jumpstart Pet Rescue_!”

“Wait, what?” Max poked his head up from his crouched position. He glanced at the game cover as Nikki giddily held it up. “Ew. Jesus Christ that game’s for babies.”

“ _I’m_ a baby!” The girl exclaimed. “We’re playing it, no more questions.”

“I don’t even know where my Wii is.”

“Try the attic?” Neil suggested. “That’s where my dad keeps his Virtual Boy.”

“Your dad has a fucking Virtual Boy?”

“It’s in the attic for a reason.”

Max snickered before standing up. He stretched, leaning so far back Neil thought he was going to fall over. “Alright, fine. I’ll go see if my Wii’s up there.”

“Can I go with you?” Nikki questioned, setting the game on the TV stand.

“Yeah, sure.” The noiret led the girl into the hallway. Neil could hear an attic door opening up and a ladder subsequently falling.

As the two were finding the Wii, Neil looked at the game. It was an EC game. “Goddammit, Nikki.” He looked at the back. There were six animals on the back and… god, the graphics looked awful. 

_‘Well, it came out in 2009 so… yeah, that’s expected.’_

“...I want that one.” He mumbled to himself, pointing at the crab. 

Neil set the game down and turned around. He was met with a few photographs hanging on the wall. He immediately noticed a photograph of a woman he didn’t recognize at all. She had bubbly green eyes and milano red hair and- oh it’s David’s mom. With a smile as bright as that- and the fact that David didn’t have any siblings- there was no way it was anybody else. 

To the right of the mother was a picture of David, Gwen, and Max. The moon was behind them and looking closely, the scientist could see some sort of pizza shop in the background. All three of them were wearing their camp attire… when was this photo taken?

Below that one was… it was the trio in front of a sunset. Neil remembered when it was taken, too. From the cliff where all the candy was thrown off of, there was a really beautiful view of the sunset and David insisted on a photo being taken. The redhead was being his usual dumbass self and hadn’t known how to change the frame so the kids had to cram into a portrait photo instead of a landscape one. It wasn’t too bad though. Neil briefly wondered why this of all the pictures of the three kids was put up. 

To the right was a photograph of David and Max; Max sticking his middle finger up with a spiteful-like expression and David seeming like his usual self. Smiling.

Next to that was a picture of someone- probably Gwen’s- hands cupping a few fireflies. 

Neil took a step back, observing the five images. In three- even the one where he looks spiteful- Max seemed happy. Actually happy. It made Neil wonder if Max’s biological parents had any photographs of Max with them and what he looked like there. He bet there was a clear difference. 

“HA, WE FOUND IT!” Nikki shouted from above.

“NO- _FUCK_.” Max yelled after Nikki’s announcement. 

Then, he heard a loud thud come from the hallway. “I’m alright! And so is the Wii!” 

“Clumsy bitch.” The nerd heard Max say.

_‘Agreed.’_ Neil stifled a laugh as he remembered all the times the girl had fallen out or off of something. Never really broke anything, though. 

Nikki came racing back into the room, a bright blue console in her arms. Max came trudging in behind her, three matching remotes in his hand connected to nunchucks which were being dragged across the floor. 

“Turtle’s mine, so back off.” The shorter male barked. 

Nikki frantically waved her hand. “Ooh, ooh, I want the elephant!” 

“Fine by me.” Neil grinned, a little excited to play a game made for young kids. He remembered playing a bunch of _Sesame Street_ games at Harrison’s place. They made fun of every single one of them. That’s what made it fun.

Max hooked the console up to the TV and turned it on, the noise giving Neil a tsunami of nostalgia. 

As soon as the game loaded up, Max and Neil both cringed at the audio. Nikki, however, looked like a kid in a candy store.

“Can’t believe I agreed to this.” Max slowly shook his head.

* * *

**January 15th, 2020 (5:40 AM)**

He was surprised he felt as good as he did, considering the trio stayed up until three in the morning playing video games. 

While Neil had his clothes here at the house, Nikki didn’t have any clean ones and was currently trifling through Gwen’s closet for something that both fit and that she liked. While she was doing this, Max and Neil were sitting together on the sofa. 

“God, I don’t wanna go back to school.” Max mumbled in Neil’s shoulder. 

“Because you hate school or because you don’t want to have to tell everybody?”

“Mm… both.” 

“Well, I’m sure they aren’t going to be angry or whatever.” Neil reassured. “I know these kids.” At least, he was sure he did.

Max sighed. “I don’t know. I think it’s just mainly Nerris. ‘Cause she’s the only one that's mad?”

“I think it’s less at you and more at Nikki.”

“What? Why would she be more mad at Nikki?”

“Ered said Nerris was upset at how Nikki reacted to you being back. That she was completely okay with it.”

“Why… why would she have a problem with that?”

Neil held his fingertips together. “When… when you were… gone… it… it hurt both me and Nikki a lot.” He nervously glanced at the other boy. “No one really likes seeing another one of us upset and… well, to summarize it, Nerris promised no one could hurt us- more specifically Nikki- again and seeing Nikki just welcome back the person who hurt her for so long… it didn’t sit right with her at all. Er, well, that’s what I’m assuming.”

“So she’s mad at Nikki for... reacting positively to me being back? That’s stupid. Like, fine, be pissed at me, I understand. But… don’t… don’t be mad that Nikki’s okay with me here. She’s a big girl, she doesn’t need Nerris’ fuckin’ apporval.”

“I’d imagine that's what Nikki said.”

“Imagine?”

“She hasn’t talked to me about it. All I know is what I’ve just told you.”

Speak of the devil, Nikki walked in. “You think this looks good?” She had an open violet purple flannel over a black tank top. She also had skinny black jeans on- which you almost _never_ see Nikki in jeans. It looked like something Ered would wear.

“Don’t ask me, I’m not good at fashion.” Max looked her up and down. 

“‘Not good at fashion’, bruh, really?”

“Did you really just say ‘bruh’?”

“Uh, _yeah_.”

Neil tuned their conversation out. 

**Wed, Jan 15, 6:21 AM**

**Harrison: Game plan:**

**Harrison: Me and Nerris will go to her D &D game after school (should end at about 5)**

**Harrison: Nikki’s going to Ered’s game (don’t know when that’ll end but should before 5) Nurf’s practice, too**

**Harrison: Preston’s got his improv thing or whatever, that ends at 4:30**

**Harrison: Don’t know about Dolph but I’ve seen what his project looks like and if I had to guess he’s gonna get it done before 5**

**Harrison: Preston’s gonna try to swing by and get them before they leave**

**Harrison: Nikki can keep watch**

**Harrison: That sound good?**

Neil typed his response. 

**That sounds great. Thanks.**

**Harrison: No problem.**

* * *

**(7:08 AM)**

Max was in the middle, Nikki was on his right, and Neil was on his left. Buried between their legs sat Max and Neil’s intertwined hands. Nikki didn’t notice it, but David did. He didn’t comment on it, but Neil knew he was happy. It made the scientist wonder if David knew of his foster son’s crush. 

“So when did you and Gwen start dating?” Nikki asked.

“Oh, uh… around Christmas of 2018, why?”

The girl giggled, her hands clasping and unclasping the bookbag between her legs. “No reason.”

Max and Neil exchanged a look. _‘Sweaters, probably.’_ He smiled. Max returned a more sinister one.

“When’d you start liking her?”

“I’ve always liked her.” David responded simply. “But I started to _like_ like her around… the summer of 2017, I think.”

Maxwell snorted at the teacher’s choice of words while Max fake gagged. “Do you know when she started to like you?”

David pondered for a moment, his eyes still fixated on the road. “No, actually. Why don’t you ask her the next time you see her?”

“When will that be?”

David didn’t respond, but he did briefly look at Neil through the rearview mirror. _‘My birthday….?’_ Was David going to do something or…?

“David?” Nikki tilted her head to the side.

“Well, I’m not sure when you’ll see her.”

“Aw.” Nikki pouted. A smile quickly replaced that frown, though. “Oh, hey, do you have human parents?”

“Uh…” David awkwardly laughed. “Yes? Why wouldn’t I?”

“Dang, I was really hoping your parents were trees!” 

“Fuckin’ dumbass.” Max mumbled. Nikki didn’t seem to hear it, maybe David didn’t either, but Neil did. And as much as he loved his sister, he couldn’t help but agree. 

* * *

**(7:22 AM)**

“God, I’m not ready for this.” Max glanced up at the building. 

“You don’t have to-”

Max quickly cut the taller male off. “No, we already have a plan. I just have to suck it up.”

“...you sure?”

Max huffed, his grip on Neil’s hand tightening. “Yeah.” The teen hung his head, moving into the building. 

Neil stayed close to Max, making their hands a little more obscure. He let Max lead him to the arts hall, Ered and Dolph already there. Advantages of being driven to school. 

Upon seeing them, Ered gave a small nod. Neil returned it. 

The skater looked like she was about to say something, but then Nikki came around the corner and called her name and whatever it was Ered was going to utter was forgotten. 

Eventually the others piled into the hall. It had only been about five minutes before Max quietly requested to depart.

“...hey, um…” Max mumbled, lightly tugging on Neil’s sleeve. “I… I wanna leave.” He breathed.

“Nerves?”

“I think so?” 

Neil looked up, glancing around the hall. Nobody seemed to be paying attention, but the brunet was sure they’d notice them leave. They’d understand, though, right?

“Uh… follow me, ‘kay?” Neil pulled Max out of the hallway and started a trek to the hall his English class was in. Max’s math class was only three doors down. When they had reached Neil’s English room, Neil stopped them and examined the other’s breathing. He seemed calmer.

“You alright?”

“Yeah…” The teen gently pulled back his bangs, showcasing both eyes. “I was thinking about starting everything off with… uh, _this_.”

“That’s fine.” _‘It’ll be like an opening sentence. Something that captivates an audience.’_

Max heaved another sigh, leaning slightly on Neil’s shoulder. “This is gonna fuck up my whole day, I know it.”

“Like I said earlier, if you don’t want to do it-”

“It doesn’t matter if I want to do it or not. I _have_ to do this. They deserve to know. It’s unfair to them if I stay silent.”

Neil processed his boyfriend’s words. “...if at any point you want to back out of this, just let me know, okay?”

“I won’t be backing out.” There was a shaky confidence to his voice.

“Just don’t push yourself.”

Max snorted, the corner of his lips twitching twice. He quickly composed himself. “I won’t.”

They engaged in a bit of small talk before the bell rang. “Oh. Uh, see you in Science, okay?”

“Right, we have that together.” Max ran a hand through his hair, his bangs shifting back to the front of his eyes. Using his other hand, he pulled Neil closer and lightly kissed him on the cheek. “It eases my anxiety.” He mumbled before turning away to his classroom.

Neil watched him walk away, wishing only the best for him.

* * *

**(12:56 PM)**

Neil had just set his bag down when Max entered the room. He paused, feeling something in the air that said that Max wasn’t exactly happy. The noiret haphazardly dropped his bag onto the floor next to Neil’s seat, sitting in the plastic chair and putting his head down. 

“...uh, hey, you… alright?”

Max lifted his head. “Truthfully? No.”

The scientist sat in his seat as well, putting his hand on Max’s leg. “Wanna… wanna tell me ab-?”

“I decided to show my eyes.” Max spouted. 

_‘Oh. Something… bad happened, didn’t it?’_

“This kids in math who saw it were fucking awful. Called me names. I mean, I don’t care, but… _really_?” Jones groaned. “Most of the kids in band were fine. But god, English… there some boys in there who somehow, like… equated my eye to something racist and to put the goddamn cherry on the cake the teacher didn’t even fucking care.” He breathed. “And there’s still this class. I cannot _wait_ to see _their_ reactions!” His voice screamed sarcasm. 

Two hands suddenly slammed on the laminate table. Both boys, startled, looked up to see Nikki. “If anyone makes fun of you, I’m siccing your and Ered’s dogs on them.”

“Ered’s got dogs?” _‘Why is that the first thing you say?’_

“Four Afghan hounds and a boxer.”

Max gaped for a moment. “Where the hell were they when I was over??”

“They were with Ered’s not-homophobic cousins that week.”

“I’m going to steal all five of them.”

Nikki giggled. “Yeah, have fun with that. Ever notice all the cuts and scars on Ered’s legs?”

“...no?” Neil didn’t even know what she was referring to.

“Well, she’s got a bunch of scars from them. You can come to the practice game after school if you wanna see.”

Max declined. “No. I’d rather use that time to… well, prepare, I guess.”

Under the table, Lowenthal slipped his hand into Max’s and gave a light squeeze, just out of Nikki’s view. “You’ll be fine.”

“Yeah!” Nikki concurred. “If the others are mean about it, I’ll beat them up.”

“No she won’t.” Neil hummed. 

“You didn’t let me finish.” The girl scolded. “I’ll beat them up with love. Give them the love that they’re lacking, so they can give it to you!” She pointed at Max.

Before Max or Neil could respond, Nikki suddenly took her seat, her phone out. Seeing the bright pink profile picture told Neil that it was Ered his sister was texting. Glancing over, he saw Max pulling his bangs back.

The brunet was about to focus on the board that was booting up, but then he heard Max mumble something that Neil probably wasn’t supposed to hear. “God, they’re fuckin’ ugly.” He was staring into his phone camera.

Without much thought, Neil uttered something. “I’d have to disagree with you there.”

Surprisingly, Max snorted. “Yeah, okay.” He looked over at his boyfriend. Neil returned the look. 

It was actually kind of nice to see Max in a public environment with his blind eye visible. Neil hoped and prayed to the god he didn’t believe in that people wouldn’t be major assholes. 

The nerd lifted his hand and held the black-haired boy’s left cheek. “I’m serious. Your eyes- yes, _eyes_ \- are fucking gorgeous.”

Max choked, a light blush dusting his cheeks. “Th-thanks.” He took Neil’s hand off his face. He shook his head. “God, don’t do that when we’re at school.”

“What- why not?”

“Because!” Max reasoned. “It makes me want to, like…” He brought his voice to a whisper, “kiss you and do gross lovey-dovey stuff.”

“O-Oh.” Neil really hoped no one was watching them.

“Ugh, stupid sappy romance shit…” Max mumbled and pulled a notebook out. Neil peered over his shoulder, just barely being able to make out what it said.

_Don’t mention shit about M+N_

_They don’t need to know about all the ‘father-son’ stuff_

_Keep it short, you’re not aiming to be there for long, it’s not a fucking life story_

“Notes?” Neil asked. _‘M+N, huh?’_

“If you wanna call it that, yeah. Guess they are.” He flipped the page, a non-looseleaf paper slipping out. “Shit-”

“I’ll get it.” Neil hastily bent down and grabbed the sheet. As he was coming back up, he noticed David’s name. 

It was David’s page from the black binder.

His blue eyes traveled down to “family”. 

_Mother: Caroline Luna_

_Father: Rhett Luna_

_Children: Maximus Jones (foster)_

Just as he finished reading, Max snatched the page back. “I thought you said David took his?”

“That was a lie.” Max blankly stated, putting the page back. “Told it because I didn’t want you guys to know the truth. But here we are.”

“...so, David’s parents…”

Neil couldn’t continue. 

Mr. Bak had started his lesson.

* * *

**(1:58 PM)**

“I’m surprised you knew all that.” Neil commented.

“Wow, you have faith in me.” Max muttered. “And it’s called ‘actually listening to the nerd when he speaks’.”

“What?”

“Space Kid wasn’t the only one who learned from your ‘meaningful lessons’.” 

The brunet had to do a double take. “Wait, you actually listened?”

“There’s downsides to having a crush.” The other teen hummed, pulling the notebook out again. 

As his boyfriend turned the pages, Neil spotted the black binder page. “Oh, uh, right, I was wondering… have you met David’s parents?”

“Parent.” Max corrected.

“Oh, is one of them dea-?”

“Hell if I know.” Max seemed a bit bitter. “All I do know is that if I’m ever given the chance to meet him, I wouldn’t want to.”

“Him? David’s dad?”

The noiret scoffed. “Please, he can hardly be called that.”

_‘Was he like…?’_ “...neglectful dad?”

“More like absent dad.”

“Oh.”

They sat in a loud silence. _‘Makes sense that Max wouldn’t… wait…’_ “Hey, on Thanksgiving didn’t you say something like your ‘dad’s dad’ was hellbent on having people over. Who were you-?”

“Campbell.” Max replied. “He’s the closest thing to a father David’s ever had. Since the summer of 2018, he’s just kind of… been part of the family, I guess. He’s like my granddad.” Max tapped a pencil on the table. “Or uncle. I don’t know.”

“Okay. Uh… what about his mom… Caroline, was it?”

“Mama Cara.” Max smiled. 

_‘So she’s the good one.’_

“She’s just like David, which can get really fuckin’ annoying, but really sweet woman. Didn’t hesitate at all when welcoming me into the family.” He shrugged. “I should get her to make carrot cake for you. Shit’s good.” He paused. “Do you like carrot cake?”

“Yeah, it’s good.”

Max grinned. “Good.”

Then, Nikki appeared in front of boys. “Three minutes.” 

Upon hearing that, Max checked his phone time. “Fuck, you’re right.”

“You’ll-”

“Do fine.” Max finished. “I’ve been told that a lot, lately.” His eyes flickered at Neil. 

Neil shifted. “Well, it’s true.” 

“Hope it is.”

* * *

**(4:26 PM)**

“So… Preston should get here soon?” Max tapped aimlessly on his phone. 

“According to Harrison, yeah.” Neil poked at a streamer hanging from the ceiling. “Why the hell is this even here?”

Max glanced up. “You’re just _now_ asking that? Some kid thought it’d be funny to put a party popper in David’s projector. When he took the lens cap off it, the whole thing kind of exploded.”

Hearing that, Neil looked up at the projector and yeah, the glass was shattered and there were marks around the lens. “Is he getting a replacement?”

“Well, it happened Monday and he can’t ask for one until Friday.”

“Why not?”

Max shrugged. “I think it’s that replacement requests can only be made on Friday’s or something.” 

Neil looked back at the projector. “I… well, I could try to fix it. I’m not necessarily a mechanic, but I can probably do something to fix it. Doesn’t seem too hard.” He could repair and program computers, so a projector shouldn’t be that difficult. It was another kind of technology. 

“Really?” Max cocked an eyebrow. “You think you can fix _that_?” He pointed at the projector. It was evidently old and a bit outdated. Neil remembered all the times it almost broke down during the first semester. Almost caused the sprinklers to go off once.

The brunet waltzed over to a cabinet and opened it, pulling a spare dark blue chair from it. “I can try.” He placed the chair just in front of the projector and stood. He examined it, seeing it being screwed into the ceiling. “Does David have a screwdriver in here?”

“Uh…” Max slowly stood, his head turning to look around the room. “He probably does.” He moved to the cabinets that lined the wall and began opening them. “No… no… uh…” He pulled a large bright green box labeled ‘TOOLS’ out. He opened it, seeing tons of wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, and other tools. “Will this do?”

Neil took the screwdriver from the shorter teen and pressed it against the screws in the roof. He twisted it, seeing the screw turn. “Yeah, it’ll work.” He carefully removed the projector from the ceiling, cradling it in his arms as he stepped to the floor. Neil placed it on David’s desk just as the door to the classroom opened. 

Both boys turned to see Preston in the doorway, Dolph and Space Kid a few feet behind him. Preston’s yellow eyes looked at Neil, then Max. When they made their way to Max, the drama lover’s expression changed. Just like how Nikki’s had the day before. 

“Oh my…” He slowly approached the black-haired boy. “I… jeez, I didn’t…” 

Max glanced over Preston’s shoulder, as did Neil. Dolph and Space Kid were preoccupied with… something. Neil couldn’t tell what it was. Looking back, he saw Max use one of his hands to pull his bangs in front of his green orbs. 

Preston opened his mouth to speak, but Max stopped him. “I’m waiting until everyone gets here to… well, show this.”

“Oh.” Preston took a step back. “So… what, uh… what do I do now…?”

“Wait?” Max shrugged, moving backwards towards Neil. “Wanna start on the projector while I mentally prepare myself?”

The nerd’s gaze flickered between the projector and Max. “Uh… alright.”

Just as Neil picked up the screwdriver, a voice was heard.

“What’s going on?” All three males turned their heads to see Dolph and Space Kid looking around the room.

Max and Neil shared a glance, then Max took a breath. “Have you ever wanted to know why I was gone for three years?” He waited for a silent nod. “Well, today’s the day you find out. You just gotta wait for everyone else to get here.”

The artist and space lover looked at each other, then at Preston, then at each other again. Slowly, the two moved to take desks in the center of the room. Dolph pulled a sketchbook out while Space Kid played with his phone. 

Neil gazed up from his work, seeing Max seemingly staring at the two boys. Before Neil could ask his boyfriend what he was thinking about, the noiret approached the two shorter boys.

As Neil was returning his focus to the technology before him, he noticed a framed photograph on the desk. It was a photo of David and Max. It was night and they were in the car, Max sleeping in David’s lap, his face pressed against the counselor's chest, with the man’s chin on the top of Max’s head. Neil also noted that they were both in their camp clothes. 

It made him wonder what exactly happened during that summer to make Max not hate David to the point where he actually saw the redhead as a father. 

“...do you do anything other than draw?”

Dolph hesitantly looked up at Max. “Uh… honestly, not really.” The German boy awkwardly chuckled. “Why do you ask? Are you going to insult my craft?”

Max leaned over, looked down at the drawings. “Huh. No actually, that’s really good, Dolph. What is it?”

“Oh.” Dolph’s blue eyes nervously flickered to Space Kid, almost like asking for back-up. “Well, it’s just a practice. I need to work on my animals, so I’ve been drawing a couple dogs- er, uh, Ered’s dogs. I don’t want to use random dogs as references.” He paused. “But, I will admit, it’s getting kind of old.”

There was a brief pause before Max pulled his device out and switched it on. Neil could see the boy go to his gallery and pull up a picture of Cinnamon. 

“If you want, you could draw mine.” He held his phone out. Dolph hesitantly took it and swiped through a few pictures.

The artist smiled upon seeing the animals. “Aw, they’re cute. What’s their names? What breeds are they?”

“That’s Cinnamon. She’s a saluki.” He flipped to the next image. “Asha and Sumit. Keeshond and akita.”

“An akita?” Space Kid piped up. “I heard those dogs are really aggressive and hard to train…”

Max snickered. “Well, you’re right. He’s a nightmare. But, I love him, so it makes all the pain bearable.”

Dolph laughed under his breath. “Reminds me of my old German shepherd.”

“Late pet?”

“...yeah.”

“That sucks.” Max was quiet for a moment. “If it makes you feel better in any way, I had two cats when I was little. And… uh, they died in a really unfair way.”

“Oh. How?”

“My, um… _pita_ killed them.” He made his hand into the shape of a gun.

“...pita? What’s that?” Space Kid asked.

The slightly taller of the three crossed his arms. “It means dad. My father shot them both. Then my mother proceeded to lie to me, saying they ran away because I was a bad pet owner.” He huffed. “Feel like she lied to me about why she had _pita_ kill them, but,” Max shrugged, “hell if I know.”

Then the room was silent and Neil looked up. Houston and Armstrong were staring at Max, concern lacing their expressions. 

Max seemed to notice their faces. “What?”

“Your dad killed your cats?”

“Mhm.”

Dolph dropped his pencil. “Why?”

The noiret was quiet.

“...Max?”

“You’ll find out soon. Just… wait until everyone else gets here.” Max shoved his hands in his pockets and began to walk away. “Also, don’t you _dare_ snoop through my phone.”

A smile managed to make its way to Dolph’s lips. “Of course not.”

Neil could tell that the artist was full of shit, but he didn’t comment on it. He gently removed the lens glass as the door opened again. 

Nurf, Ered, and Nikki came in, automatically finding and taking seats near Preston. Nikki had looked up and gave Max a thumbs up. Max smiled at the gesture.

“Four minutes ‘till five. Everyone’s almost here…” Max sighed.

“You ready?”

Max snorted. “Hell no.” He grinned. “But, I mean… I wasn’t ready when I told you or Nikki so…”

Neil nodded, pressing the screwdriver on another set of screws. He occasionally peeked up at Max throughout the next five minutes. He noticed how when the clock hit five, Max seemed ten times more stressed than at four fifty-nine. “Go talk to someone.” 

“Aren’t _you_ someone?”

“Well, yeah. But I’d rather you go talk to _them_.” The scientist used the screwdriver to point at Nikki, Ered, Preston, and Nurf. “It might be good to talk to Ered, Nurf, and Preston before, y’know.”

Max stopped, seeming to consider the idea. “Fine, I guess.”

Neil tuned out whatever conversation those four had while he attempted to work on the projector. Despite his focus being on the machine, he couldn’t help but hear an excited gasp. His eyes flicked up, seeing Dolph and Space Kid staring at Max’s phone. Both young teens looked up and Neil, then at Max, then back at Neil, then back at Max. When their eyes were back on Neil, Space Kid made a heart with his fingers. 

_‘Of course.’_ He brought a finger up to his lips. _‘Only took one day for someone to notice.’_

Luckily, it seemed the boys obliged by Neil’s request (after more excitement filled their faces). Though, that didn’t stop them from going through the rest of the noiret’s photo gallery. It did make Neil wonder what was in his partner’s gallery. Maybe he could ask one day.

It took about ten more minutes before Nerris and Harrison had arrived.

“She totally cheated, but I still wo…” The Dunkelman trailed off, her blue eyes scanning the room. Her orbs landed on Max and her face twisted into a grimace. Nerris turned to walk out, but Harrison stopped her, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her further into the room and into a chair. “Wh- Harrison?!”

Nikki stood up and closed the door as Neil moved away from the teacher’s desk, taking a seat in the back. Neil noticed Nerris give a slight glare at the teal-haired girl. 

Max moved to the front. “Before we begin, please, I beg you, do not get into any fights or arguments.” His head was directly pointed at Nerris. “Alright.” He started. “So. As you all know, I kind of disappeared after camp. You probably spent a while trying to figure out what happened.” A pause. “Or you automatically thought I was an ass and disregarded any other possibilities- _but_ , I’ve… well, uh, Neil and Harrison have gathered all of you here so you can all hear an… abridged version of three really fucked up years of my life.” 

“That’s an understatement.” Nikki mumbled. 

_‘She really hates his parents…’_ He couldn’t blame her though. He hated them too. A lot. For good reason.

“Understatement?” Space Kid leaned over his desk to look at Maxwell. 

“She, uh…” Max’s hands slowly rose to his bangs. “She means this, I think.” He pulled them back. 

Then there were gasps. 

Followed by a stunned silence.

Jones awkwardly coughed. “So… after camp. My parents decided to start homeschooling me. It was… it was like normal school, but with an extra class. A behavioral correction class.” He glanced at Nurf. “But, um, it was nothing like what Nurf’s camp was like.”

“If I got anything wrong- anything at all- I was hit. It started out with slaps. Easy stuff, I was used to it. But… eventually it turned to punches. Really, uh… really bad ones.” Max rubbed his arm. “My phone kinda broke. I think it might’ve been because _pita_ worked in a phone company, but I don’t know.” He refused to make eye contact. “I tried to text all of you, I swear. Texts and calls never went through. At least, mine didn’t. Eventually, I got Space Kid’s address and… multiple times I tried to escape.”

“My last attempt ended up with this.” He gestured to his eye. “And uh…” Carefully, the boy began to pull his hoodie off. In a swift motion, he removed both his hoodie and the shirt underneath it. 

What was visible shocked even Neil. Despite seeing the boy’s back, he’s never seen the front. There were tons of scars and burns. 

And then there was the gunshot wound in his right shoulder. 

“I, um… _pita_ shot me. I guess I’m lucky. He was probably aiming for my head, but he missed. Uh… that was the night I actually escaped from them. Same night I was left blind.” The noiret fumbled with his thumbs. “Between that and when I first left camp, I got hit by a car. Got pneumonia. Uh… got beat so much I couldn’t see my normal skin color. Multiple hospital trips. If you’ve seen the files, you know how bad some of them are.”

“Can confirm,” Preston interrupted, “awful shit. You’re all lucky you didn’t have to read that stuff.”

“Anyway… the first year with all the homeschool stuff, when summer was approaching, I was expecting to be sent back to camp since… well, before becoming super physically abusive, they were neglectful. _Really_ neglectful. So I thought they’d send me back to camp to get rid of me. _Again._ But they didn’t. So I tried to escape. Never worked.”

Nurf slowly raised his hand. 

“What?”

“What if you _did_ make it?”

“I… if it was 2017, I’d pretend like everything was fine, I think. Though I’m sure David, Gwen, Neil, and Nikki would’ve figured out I was full of bullshit. I don’t think I could’ve gotten away with lying about not texting you guys for a ton of months. By the summer of 2018, I was already away from them, so…”

Surprisingly, Nerris chimed in. “If you’re away from your parents, who are you staying with?”

Max was quiet for a moment. “We-”

“Oh fuck.”

Everyone turned to the voice: Ered.

“What is it?” Nikki asked.

Ered’s face was one of which Neil had never seen. Ered had never been one to express much, her expression always being… for lack of better terms lackluster. So, seeing her horrified face was… a bit unsettling to say the least. 

“I… heard about this…” She quietly spoke. “There was a police report about a boy who was being abused by his parents. There had been tons of investigations but the family was rich and powerful, so they got away with it for a longer time than it should’ve been.” She shakily looked up at Max. “Was that you?”

“...probably, yeah. Why do you look so guilty?”

“No, Max, I… I first heard about those reports in 2017. I remember walking around the station, waiting for my dad’s to finish whatever uncool police-related thing they had to do, when I first heard about it. I never really paid attention to those. Maybe if I-”

“Don’t even start.” Max narrowed his eyes. “The amount of times I’ve heard ‘if only I had done this’ or ‘if only I had done that’ is annoying. Whatever the hell happened to me is none of you guys’ faults, got it?” He didn’t wait for confirmation. “Okay. Anyway, Nerris, to answer your question, I’m currently living with David and Gwen.”

“David and Gwen? Wow, wasn’t… wasn’t expecting that.” Preston uttered.

“David was the only person I had. If not for him, I’d be stuck in the foster care system with some other family, in some other place. I’d rather be with someone I trust, thanks.”

“ _You_ trust _David_?” Nerris snorted.

“There were a lot of things that happened during camp that none of you knew about.”

Nurf aimlessly pointed at Neil and Nikki. “Not even them?”

“Not even us.” Neil responded for Max. “There’s a couple photos of Max and David back at camp. Like the one on David’s desk.” He saw everyone’s eyes gravitate to the teacher’s desk. “There’s some pictures at his house, too.”

Without warning, Preston stood up and ran behind the desk, quickly seizing the photograph. “Aw! You look so cute!”

“Wh- shut the fuck up!” Max squeaked.

The others erupted into laughter. 

It made Neil smile, seeing everyone act so… _them_. Like how they were kids at a shoddy summer camp doing and experiencing unbelievable things. 

Seeing Max… happy. 

But he could sense a bit of tension still looming in the air. 

* * *

**(5:47 PM)**

“Then, David tripped over the wire. He fell face-first into the mud pies we made! It was… well, maybe ‘hilarious’ is overdoing it, but definitely funny!” Goodplay cheered.

Max lazily nodded. “Uh huh. Sounds to me like camp got super boring when I wasn’t there.”

“I-! Well… um…” Preston tapped his fingertips together.

“You’re absolutely right.” Ered flipped her hair. “Nothing ever happened.”

Dolph closed his sketchbook. “Except that time we all went to Spooky Island and found, uh… Jasper, was it?”

“Oh…” Nikki sighed, dejected. “Right… um… so we found, like… Jasper’s shirt and shoes around his… bottlecaps or whatever.”

“Pogs.” Max corrected. “Do I… do I want to know what happened to him?”

The kids looked at each other. 

_‘Might as well.’_ Neil huffed. “We never saw him after that, so… he probably… he’s probably gone.”

Max blinked, then looked to the ground. “That, uh… that might be my fault…”

“What?”

“Remember when me, Sasha, and Pikeman went missing for a week? Well, all three of us were on Spooky Island trying to find Campbell’s thing… I forgot what it was. Anyway, in the end, the island caught on fire.”

Neil’s eyes widened, as did a few of the other kids’. “ _You_ caused that fire?”

“Yeah…” It was drawn out. “Kinda hope he’s _gone_ gone. Y’know, that way he’s not a ghost forever wandering around an island that elders use to have kinky sex.”

Preston choked. “I’m sorry, to do _WHAT_?!” 

The noiret opened his mouth to respond, but the intercom interrupted.

_“Anyone still in the building must leave within the next twenty minutes.”_

Then it clicked off.

And then Dolph’s phone buzzed. “Oh, my papa’s here.” He shoved his sketchbook into his bookbag and zipped it. Space Kid stood alongside him. “Um, see you all tomorrow.” They exited.

Nikki puffed out a bit of air. “This is the worst part about hangouts. People leaving.”

“Yeah, it does suck.” Ered tapped on her phone. “Ugh, uncool. My dad’s are here, too.”

“Aw.” Nikki pouted.

“I’ll text you when I get home.” The skater promised.

The shorter girl instantly brightened. “Okay!”

Then there were seven.

Then there were six. 

Then there were five.

Then four.

Then thr- “Hey, Nerris.” Max called out, making the girl stop in her tracks.

The nerd breathed in, then turned around, a narrowed expression and crossed arms facing the noiret. “What? I gotta go.”

Max held an unimpressed appearance. “Wow, when you’d turn into such a bitch?” He mumbled, ignoring her offended gasp. He moved towards her, taking her by the arm and dragged her out of the classroom while she protested. 

The siblings sat in a rather long silence.

“What do you think he’s gonna do?” Nikki turned to her stepbrother.

“Probably talk to her.”

The girl scoffed. “Right. Like that’ll work.” There was a bit of animosity in her face, but that quickly faded into what looked like… regret, maybe?

“Are you still mad at her?”

“Yes.” Nikki was quick in her answer. But then Neil glared at her, and she crumbled even quicker. She sighed. “Okay, okay, no. I stopped being mad at her back in, like… November! I can’t stay mad at someone for that long!” She exasperated. “Except if you’re an abusive jerk and hurt one of my friends. Then I’ll hate you forever." Nikki looked away, then back at Neil. “Which I still want them dead. You think we can break into Ered’s dad’s weapon room?”

“No.” Neil chastised. “You are not murdering anybody. Not even them.”

“But they deserve it! Don’t you want them dead?”

Neil pondered for a moment. “Well, _yeah_. Of course I do. But I’d rather them rot in jail.” He paused. “I heard people who hurt children have it really rough in prison anyway.”

Nikki blinked a few times. “Huh. Never really thought about it that way.” She slumped against the desk. “I wonder if Max has any pictures of them.”

“Why?”

“So I can make fun of them, obviously!” The green-haired girl giggled. “And also because I wanna know what they look like. It was Max’s mom that he looked more like, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I wanna know what traits he got from his dad. His story made it seem like they’re nothing alike.” Nikki tapped on the desk. “Physically, wise, anyway.” She quickly added.

Neil thought for a moment. “If I had to guess… maybe his, uh… facial structure or something.”

“Really? Max made it seem like the dude is ‘big buff guy’. Max’s face is more… soft and rounded. Like how a girl’s might be.”

She was kinda right in that sense. “Uh… maybe it’s something like his ears or eye shape.”

“Maybe.” Nikki hummed. She glanced up at the clock. “They better hurry up. There’s three minutes left.”

Then, the door to the classroom opened up and Max stood behind it, alone. “Yo, let’s go.” He turned.

_‘Where’s Nerris?’_

The siblings gathered their things and followed Max into the hallway. Neil was in the middle with Nikki on his left and Max on his right. “So, what’d you talk to Nerris about?”

But Max didn’t reply.

“Max?”

He was blankly staring ahead of him, his mind seemingly somewhere else. 

Neil poked at his boyfriend’s arm. “Max?”

No response.

“Uh…” Nikki peered around the brunet, looking at Max’s blank expression. “Maybe something bad happened with Nerris?”

Neil analyzed the boy’s face a little longer. “...yeah, maybe.”

The two made small attempts to reach Max before they made it to the front doors of the school. Once they were out, Max seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in. 

Neil was about to make another attempt to ask Max about what happened, but he paused when he saw Nerris about to get into her mother’s car. The girl was staring up at Nikki. 

For a moment, Neil thought something bad was about to happen, but to his surprise, Nerris smiled at the girl. He glanced over at his sister, seeing that she was shocked at the gesture. 

Then she smiled back. 

Nerris got into the car and a few moments later, they were gone.

It was then that Neil noticed his own father’s car. Nikki was already moving towards the car, no doubt internally calling shotgun. His head turned to Max. “What did you do?”

“Hm?”

“With Nerris. You talked to her, right?”

“Yeah.” Max hummed. “She’s willing to fix her and Nikki’s relationship. Oh, also, she’s invited us three to a hangout at Harrison’s this Friday.”

“Really?”

“Mhm.” Max took the nerd’s hand and began pulling his towards the car. “C’mon. I wanna listen to that playlist you titled after me.”

“Oh, alright.”

He let Max drag him into the backseat of the car, the sun shining through the window, offering a bit of heat against the cold wind of January. Max took the nerd’s bag and unzipped it, ransacking it in a search for his phone. It was a bit surprising that the kid assumed it was in the bag (although, he wasn’t wrong. It was in there). Eventually he found it and Neil’s headphones. 

Handing it off to Neil, he one of the black-colored earbuds in his ear and waited for his boyfriend to start the playlist. 

Neil hoped he liked it. 

As the car began to move, Neil felt Max rest his head on his shoulder.

“ _Fine, Great_ , huh?”

“Shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ art](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kSUM39S8Jm_utXzp5yJ269o9P_fii0MWx4YW1hpQYKc/edit?usp=sharing)  
> [ CHAPTER 14.5](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q-VbFO8ju6JAhsyWBdQBSF3wzLyXet4p9FVGemw1VdM/edit?usp=sharing)  
> Happy early Thanksgiving <3!


	15. We're Here For A Good Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than usual and I'm not exactly proud/happy with this. I may add more in the future, but I'm not sure. I just really wanted to get it done by Christmas,,,, bad decision maybe but progress has been slow because I haven't been in the best headspace as of late,, anyway enjoy I guess?  
>  ***talks of triggers, sexual assault/rape**

Neil heaved a sigh, pulling his sweater over his head. The day had been stressful, no doubt. 

More stressful for Max, though. It was nice to see the other so… relaxed and content. Sure, he’d seen that before in the last few months, but it was great to see him like that with all this other bullshit out of the way. 

As far as Neil knew, the only thing Max was dealing with now was his trauma. 

And relationships.

But Neil had a feeling that he would be fine in that. 

Everything was… better. 

Neil hadn’t felt this happy in a long time.

...then Nikki basically broke the door down.

Neil shrieked, then hesitated for a moment, not quite remembering that- _‘Shit, I don’t have on concealer-’_

He turned his body while frantically pulling his sweater back on. 

Nikki cocked her head at her brother’s actions, but eventually shrugged them off. “So…” A grin was on her face. “Nerris apologized. Whatever Max said to her made her rethink everything. We’re cool now.”

“That’s good.” Neil breathed, his hand over his chest. 

The girl stared quizzically at the boy. “You, uh, you okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Nikki shrugged. “I don’t know. You seem out of breath. Did I really scare you that badly?” She chuckled.

“Yes!” Neil glared. “You just barged into my room! Who wouldn’t be startled from that?”

Nikki started laughing. “I scared you so badly you had to throw your shirt back on! I’ve seen you shirtless before, y’know.”

“Yeah, I know!” He’d rather not remember those days at the pool, thanks. “You just… ugh.”

She giggled a bit more. “You only react like that when you…” Her eyes widened and so did her smile. She rushed towards him, hands reaching for the hem of his sweater.

“W-What the fuck are you doing??”

“You’re hiding something!” She beamed, determined. “Lemme see! Is it a battle scar? Who’d you get in a fight with?”

“I didn’t fight anYONE-” He yelped as he felt an aggressive tug on the neck of his sweater, effectively pulling it back and cutting off his air for a moment.

He heard Nikki gasp. “IS THAT A HICKEY?!” A louder gasp. “ _HICKIES_??”

Neil turned and put his hands over her mouth. “Shut up!” His face was red. 

Nikki tore the hands off. “When was this?” She excitedly asked, but then spoke before Neil could answer. “Waitwaitwait, yesterday your neck was clean…” _‘Why now does she have to finally use her brain?’_ “And we were only over at Max’s…” 

_‘Oh god.’_

Her smile grew bigger. “You guys were alone for a while…”

_‘Oh shit.’_

“And you guys seemed a little weird when I came back…”

_‘Oh fuck.’_

She gasped again, her eyes sparkling. “Neil, NeilNeilNeilNeilNeilNeilNeilNeilNeil- tell me.” She grabbed him by the shoulders. “Is that, by any chance, from Max?”

Neil blinked at her. _‘Goddammit.’_ “Maybe.” He squeaked.

The girl squealed. “Really? Like, are you for serious? Are you and Max… _together_? Like Harrison and Nerris kind of together?”

Neil rocked on his heels. He considered his options (though, it’d be kind of stupid to say ‘no’). He knew she’d probably want a photograph- as she had wanted back when the magic kids first got together. She was like that. 

He hesitantly pulled his phone out and went to his gallery. He knew Max took his phone at one point while they were waiting for Nikki. He knew Max snuck a photo of them kissing… he just had to find it. 

Which wasn’t hard. 

There used to be four to five photos in the gallery, now there were just over one hundred. Most of them were of Max and Neil, either taken by Neil, taken by Max, or sneakily taken by Nikki. 

He reluctantly handed the phone over. Even before the device was fully out of his hands, Nikki somehow smiled wider and looked up at her brother. 

She suddenly pulled him into a hug. “Look at you, dating!” She paused, her expression twisting into one of anger. “Wait, how long? Were you hiding your relationship from me?”

“...not… exactly?” It was honest. “We didn’t tell anyone. We were just gonna… let people find out. Dolph and Space Kid looked through Max’s phone. I think they’re the only ones who know. Well, now you do, too. And honestly? Two days. Started the day I went over.”

“You’ve hidden this from me for _two days_??” She shrieked. 

“Sorry??”

“Uh, yeah, you better be sorry! Oh, I am going to _steal_ Max’s phone from him!” She flipped her body around, walking in stride to her room. “YEAH!”

Neil couldn’t hold back the little laugh that exited his lips. “She’s… happy.” He said to himself. 

With a huff, Neil finished what he was doing. Now with a plain white t-shirt, he flopped onto his bed, phone already out. 

**Wed, Jan 15, 7:02 PM**

**Nikki knows.**

**Max: i’m aware**

**Max:[[screenshot]](https://imgur.com/a/KXP1Avb)**

Neil read the messages in the screenshot. _‘Someone’s excited…’_

**I’ll get the computer set up.**

**Max: mkay**

**Max: <3**

**Max: wait am i allowed to do that**

Neil smiled.

**Yes.**

**Max: oh ok**

**Max: <3**

**< 3**

The scientist stood just as Nikki barged in again. “Neil-!”

“I’m setting it up.” He waved her off, heading in the direction of his computer. He turned it on and waited for everything to boot up. 

“So…” Nikki approached, a feigned innocence to her voice. “How did this end up happening? Was it just… spur of the moment, or…?”

Neil glanced at the screen, then back at Nikki. “I’ve liked him since we were, like, ten.”

“You what?”

“You heard me.”

“You’ve… _really_?? What about him??”

“Eh… honestly, about the same amount of time.”

Nikki stood there, mouth slightly open in disbelief. “Oh man, those three years had to’ve been rough, huh?” She lightly punched him in the arm. 

Lowenthal shrugged. “All of that was more out of being his best friend… I think. Besides, I didn’t even know I liked him until… what, four months ago?”

“How...?? How do you not know that you like someone?”

The brunet almost laughed. “It took you four months to realize you liked Ered, and that was when you had contact!” His attention was stolen from the conversation when the light of his computer signaled that it was done and up. 

He swiveled his body, opening a window and maneuvering his way to Hangouts. 

Nikki was quiet for a moment. “So… how’d you find out?”

“Read my diary.” He answered, clicking Max’s contact. “That was the day I went to the mall with Max.”

“Oh, so that was a date!”

Neil blinked, his mind blanking for a moment. “Wh- no! No, it wasn’t a date. It was just…” He aimlessly waved his hands in front of him. “A normal, platonic hangout.”

“But you saw a movie!” Nikki reasoned. “And ate at a diner after! That’s totally romantic!” She was close to her brother, leaning onto the desk. “That’s literally two dates in one day.”

“It wasn’t.” Neil insisted. While he’d love to call that a date, it really wasn’t as both of them went under the pretense that it was just a friendly meetup. At least, Neil did. He’d have to ask Max about that.

If Nikki doesn’t do it first, that is.

The call started, Max appearing on the screen. “Hey.” He greeted. 

“Hi.” Neil smiled at him, ignoring Nikki’s little squeal beside him. 

“Give me the details, now.” Nikki leaned towards the screen, her eyes wide and excited.

* * *

**January 17th, 2020 (3:00 PM)**

It felt a little strange. This would mark the first time in years that the whole gang was together and doing something. Neil hoped it wouldn’t be awkward (in hindsight, what does he have to be worried about? Nerris and Nikki made up and so did Nerris and Max. It isn’t like anyone hates him still. He blamed it on nerves).

Max, Neil, and Nikki entered the house. The brunet glanced over at his boyfriend who was observing the area. _‘He’s never been here before.’_

To an outsider, Harrison’s house may seem... odd. There were small, “magical” trinkets scattered around the house. They were there for the magician’s younger brother when said brother was a bit… well, younger. Now they just kind of sat around. 

To the other side of Neil, Nikki was crouched on the ground, her arms stretched out. “C’mere Mister Fluffikins!”

That seemed to catch Max’s interest. “Mister who?” 

“Harrison’s cat.” Neil spoke, briefly checking the time. 

“He has a cat?” Max gently pushed past the scientist and joined the girl on the ground. As soon as he did, a medium-sized orange cat shot out of the darkness and straight into Nikki’s arms. 

“Hi, buddy!” Nikki kissed the side of the animal’s head multiple times. 

“Oh shit, he’s cute.” The noiret raised a hand to the cat’s ears. He welcomed the touch. “What is he?”

Nikki opened her mouth to speak, but someone else beat her to it. 

“Munchkin.” Neil looked up, seeing Mick standing in the doorway, a white XBox controller in his hands. 

Max stared at him for a moment. “Are you Harrison’s brother?”

“Uh, yeah.” Now seeing Max, Mick seemed a bit unnerved. “If you don’t mind me asking,” He looked around. “What the fuck happened to your eye?”

Max blinked, then stood. “Abusive parents.” He snapped a finger gun at the boy. “Anyway, name’s Max.”

“Mick.” Right after stating his name, the younger Perel retreated through the kitchen and up the stairs. 

Max stood up, turning to Neil. “So how’d Harrison get him back?”

“He practiced a lot.” Neil answered. 

_It was twelve in the morning when he had gotten the call. **“I did it!”** The magician sounded frazzled._

_Despite being half-asleep a few seconds ago, Neil was now wide awake._

_**“Wait, you did?!”** That was Preston’s voice. **“Is he okay?”**_

_**“Yeah!”** Harrison sniffled. **“M-Mick’s back! He’s okay! God… I… I did it… ha…”**_

_**“Told you you could do it, Harry!”** Nerris’ voice was comforting._

_A brief thought of if Harrison could bring Max back passed through the scientist’s brain._

_Neil shook his head at this idea._

_...it wasn’t like Max was lost, right?_

Max shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m guessing his family is better?”

“Yeah.” Neil lightly pulled on Max’s hood, past Nikki and the cat and led him to the living room. “His parents aren’t _that_ afraid anymore, but they’re still cautious. Mick is fine, though. Didn’t actually traumatize him at all.”

“Damn. Lucky kid.”

“Spares the family of getting him therapy.” Neil shrugged. 

“You think Nerris will bring Snarky?” Nikki came in, holding the orange munchkin cat in her arms. 

“Nope.” Neil answered honestly. There wasn’t a need to, not to him, anyway. 

Max clicked his nails against the counter. “Snarky? Okay, who has pets and who doesn’t?”

Nikki grinned. “Nerris has a cat named Snarky, SK has a dog named Laika,” Max snorted at that, “Dolph has a golden retriever named Goldie, uh… oh, Preston recently got a poodle! I think her name’s Polly or something like that.”

“What’s Ered’s dogs names?”

Another voice spoke before Nikki could answer. “Streak, Ovin, Key, Iries, and Juniper.” 

The three looked to the voice, which was Ered. “Ered!” Nikki greeted. 

Ered smiled back. “Hey, Niks.”

Neil and Max ignored them. “You ever wanted a pet?” 

“Me? I mean,” The brunet put his phone face-down on the counter. “I’m not against it. I don’t think either of my parents want one though.”

“That sucks.” 

Neil shrugged. “Nikki can be the pet.”

Max snickered. “Who’s saying she isn’t already?”

“Hey,” The boys looked up, seeing Nerris. She looked at Max. “Ever heard of _Just Dance_?”

Max looked at Neil, a sinister grin forming on his face. 

Looks like there was about to be a new high score.

* * *

**(4:11 PM)**

“I don’t…” Nikki huffed. “How…? I’m, like, the queen of this game!” 

Max threw the wii remote into the air, catching it when it came back down. “Not anymore.” 

“ _Damn_.” Nerris smirked, her arms crossed as she leaned against the couch. “You’re good.”

“Thanks.” The noiret replied, twirling the remote by the safety strap.

Neil stared at the strap. “I’m just waiting for that to fly off and hit someone.”

“Oh, I’m counting on it.” Max swung it harder. “And I’m hopin’ it’s you.” He winked and Neil’s whole face burned. _‘Damn, he’s ~~hot~~ cute.’_

He heard Nikki’s aggressive attempt of stifling a laugh next to him. He gave a glare and she lost it.

* * *

**January 23rd, 2020 (3:42 PM)**

“So, you’re finally fifteen.” Max swung his arm over his boyfriend, pressing his face against the other’s. 

“I am finally fifteen.” Neil echoed.

“What’re we gonna do?” The shorter draped his leg over the arm of the blue couch. 

“What do you mean?”

“For your birthday.” _‘Duh.’_ “I mean, you gotta be doin’ something.”

Neil awkwardly laughed. “Uh, no… my parents don’t really do much for my birthday. Never have.”

Max sat up, no longer touching Neil. “Well,” He clasped his hands together. “That’s good because David already set up an entire thing at that sports park a city over.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah. He asked your parents a couple days ago and they said yeah. Which was good because he already called in for it.”

“But I don’t-”

“Too bad. Trust me, my thirteenth and fourteenth were spent traveling to these real cool places. The guy goes all out for birthdays, if you don’t remember Preston’s eleventh.”

“I do.” He wished he didn’t. Fun for Preston, sure. Not fun for Neil. 

“We leave at four-thirty, so be ready.” He stood and stretched. 

“Where are you going?”

“To get your present, duh.” Max began walking upstairs to his room. “But you’re not allowed to see it. Oh, and wear a t-shirt today.”

Neil blinked at him as he ascended.

* * *

**(5:01 PM)**

“Holy shit.” Neil stared at the building before him. It was huge. People in golf carts were driving around, there was a go-kart racetrack, golf, among other little sports. The brunet wondered what the inside looked like.

Max tugged on Neil’s sleeve. “If you aren’t into the sports, there’s an arcade inside.”

Nice.

Max began dragging the taller boy into the building. There were neon lights and an autumn color palette all over the place. In the back, Neil could see separate rooms with people. It looked like a party room of some sort. But returning his gaze to the main room before him, there were arcade cabinets among other games littering the area. He spotted a few classics, like _Pac-Man_ , _Donkey Kong_ , and _Space Invaders_. There were also newer games, like the _Just Dance_ over in the corner with the dance pad. Neil wondered what the high score for that was. He bet Max could beat it. 

“I know you probably wanna play the games first, but there is a party we have to catch.” 

“Oh.” Neil followed Max to the back where the other rooms were. Soon, he saw the kids from camp in one of the decorated rooms. He smiled upon seeing them.

Entering, he noticed how the room had a yellow/warm color palette. His favorite color. It reminded him of when he set up Max’s special day, using blue anywhere he could. 

Max nudged him. “You get the end chair, your highness.” 

Neil snickered. “Wanna lead me there, peasant?” He wondered when this joke would get old.

“Mm… nah, you’re a big boy, you can get there yourself.”

Neil frowned a little, but trekked over to the red seat anyway. Max left the room briefly and came back with a big black bag. 

They waited a little while longer before getting to cake and presents. The cake was a simple white with vanilla frosting. Then presents came and it was the usual sciency stuff. Materials, books, tools… then came Max’s. 

There were more materials and sciency stuff. That was expected. What wasn’t expected, was the stuffed bear at the bottom of the bag. It had buttons for eyes, blue buttons to be exact. The fur was a cinnamon brown and was rather fluffy. The arms were a bit stiff, sticking out as if it was holding something. If Neil didn’t know any better, he might’ve assumed it was supposed to be him- wait, that was exactly what it was. Underneath it were two smaller bears. They weren’t as soft, but one was black and the other was green. Those were supposed to be Max and Nikki. 

Examining the bear closer, there were small velcro flaps on its hands. The brunet looked at the smaller bears, seeing the same thing on their lower backs. A thin grin forming on his face, he opened the flaps up and stuck them together. It was a big Neil bear holding a smaller Max and Nikki bear. 

He looked up and saw Max giving a small smile at him.

Goddamn, when was he gonna stop being cute?

Looking back in the bag, he noticed another hoodie. It was basically a hoodie version of his old short-sleeved sweater back at camp. Seeing that there was no tag or anything, he threw it on. It was comfortable. 

After that, the kids were free to go into the arcade. 

“So… what do you guys wanna do first?” Nikki inquired, bouncing on her heels. 

“There’s one of those hunting games over there. You both should go play it.” Max patted them both on the back.

“Just us? What about you?”

Max’s smile faltered for a moment. “I, uh… David wants me to do something. Don’t worry about it. When I’m done, I’ll be getting a milkshake, ‘kay?” He gently kissed Neil’s cheek before skipping off. 

The siblings watched him leave, exiting the building. “Huh.” Nikki put her hands on her hips. “Oh well.” A smile appeared on Nikki’s face as she pulled Neil over to the two plastic, brightly colored rifles. “Ooh!” She lifted the blue one and cocked it, loving the sound it made.

“You’re a danger to society.” 

Nikki just laughed. “Pick up the other one!”

“Okay, okay, fine.”

The next couple minutes were spent shooting virtual deer and birds. The scores were close, Neil leading just by a few points. From the corner of his eye, he could see Nerris, Preston, and Harrison throwing balls at clowns, Space Kid and Dolph hitting big piano tiles, and Ered standing in the corner on her phone. After the round was over, Neil looked to the small food court.

No Max.

He wondered what it was that David had wanted Max to do. 

A few rounds later, and Nikki came out on top. She gloated, but Neil wasn’t paying much attention. Amidst his ignoring, he saw David and Gwen standing by a counter. Without a word, he sped-walked towards them. He barely heard Nikki’s yelp of surprise when he moved away.

“Hey, where’s Max?”

“Huh?” David looked down at the teen who was just a few inches shorter than him. “What do you mean?”

“Max said you asked him to go do something.”

“I didn’t.” David said slowly, fear quickly making itself evident in the man’s face.

Neil blinked, his expression mirroring David’s. “H-Hold on, let me call him.”

He dialed the noiret, hoping he’d pick up.

**“Hey.”**

“Where the hell are you?”

**“Outside.”**

Without a second thought, Neil hung up. “He’s outside.” He heard David sigh of relief. 

As Nikki was approaching the three, the brunet shuffled away and out the door. He turned his head to the right and immediately saw his boyfriend. “Max,”

The other teen looked up, mumbling a swear. “Hey.”

“What were you doing?”

“Uh…” Max rubbed the nape of his neck. “Needed air.”

“You could’ve just said that. You lied to me and Nikki.”

Max looked off. “Sorry…” He muttered.

“Can you tell me why?”

Max shrugged. “Didn’t want you to worry…”

“David almost had a heart attack when he found out no one knew where you were!”

Max took a small step back. “He’s the reason I didn’t tell you…” 

“What?”

“He’s the reason I didn’t tell you.” The noiret repeated.

“Wha- why?”

Max huffed. “If I told him I needed air, he would’ve offered to come with me, then would’ve come anyway. He doesn’t trust me alone. Especially not after that Halloween party.”

Neil could relate to him there. He’s lied before just to get some privacy. 

He moved closer to Max, debating if he should hold his hand or not. “You could’ve told me to lie for you.”

“Ehh… I’m not that smart.”

“Alright, that’s bullshit.” His face softened. “You’re one of the smartest people I know.”

“Speak for yourself.” Max snickered, lightly shoving Neil. 

Neil put his hands up in defense. “I’m just saying the truth.”

* * *

**(6:44 PM)**

“I thought you would’ve hated this.” Max leaned his armored back against the wall.

Neil shrugged. “It’s not that bad… though, can’t say I’m winning.” He observed the leaderboard. Nikki was leading… which wasn’t surprising in the slightest. 

Speaking of which…

“SURPRISE ATTACK!” 

The brunet could feel the exact moment the gun collided with his back. “OW- FUCK, NIKKI THAT IS _NOT_ HOW YOU PLAY!”

The girl giggled. “In my version, it is!” She scurried off before Neil could shoot her. 

He heaved a sigh, about to look at Max, but he was… gone…? “Max?”

Neil turned his head, almost missing the shape shifting in the dark. “Max?” He repeated.

Then there was a hand on his wrist. 

And he almost screamed.

Before he knew it, he was pulled into a slightly lighter room. When he looked up, he saw the door being closed and Max behind it. “Yeah?”

Neil looked around, seeing empty boxes and running circuits. “Uh… is this a backroom?”

“Think so.” Max lifted the armor off of himself and placed it on the floor. “You can go back out there if you want. I’m gonna stay in here for the next… what, twenty minutes?”

The brunet frowned, sensing something… off. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I am.” The shorter of the two leaned against the carpeted wall. “Why wouldn’t I be?” He lightly kicked the armor away from him.

Neil stared down at the armor, his eyes slowly trailing up at a screen that showcased the scores. 

Nikki was at the top, and Max was at the bottom. 

With zero points. 

“Do you not like laser tag?”

“Used to.”

“What does that mean?”

Max shrugged, opting to scroll aimlessly on his phone. 

Off in the distance, Neil could hear the sounds of lasers going off… and Nikki continuously barreling into people. Looking back up at Max, he couldn’t help but notice that his boyfriend flinched every time a… laser… went... _oh_.

“Wait… Max, is this… is this triggering for you?” 

Max froze and it was then that Neil knew the answer. “No.”

“You left when Nikki and I did the hunting game, you went to get another milkshake when Nerris dragged us over to the blaster game, you avoided every other game that includes a gun, and you’re avoiding this.” He breathed. “Is this triggering to you?”

Slowly, Max slumped to the ground. “...maybe it is. So what? Don’t let that ruin your birthday.”

The taller one’s eyebrows furrowed. Carefully, he took his own armor off and kneeled to Max’s level. “Don’t tell me you’ve been putting yourself through mental torture for me just because it’s my birthday.”

Max was silent.

“Max-”

“You said to not tell you.”

“You know what I meant.” The nerd quietly moved to sit beside the other. “Again, has this-”

“Yes!” Max blurted out. “Yes, okay?” He brought his knees close to his chest. “I’m sorry, I’m not good around guns anymore. I’m not that good around violence. I’m not good with physical contact.” Max briefly glanced at Neil. “I’m not good at communicating.”

_‘Obviously.’_ Neil scooted a bit closer, though regretted doing so. Luckily, Max hadn’t seemed to react to the action. “...we can work on that. You know that, right?”

“I do.” Max mumbled. “But I don’t… you should just be focused on yourself. It’s your special day. I can wait. Enjoy yourself, get out there.”

“I can’t enjoy myself if I know you’re not feeling okay.” He put his hand over Max’s, who, in turn, flipped his hand around and clasped the other’s. “You’re my boyfriend. You deserve to be just as happy as I am today. You deserve to be happy every day, actually.”

“I keep hearing that. I-” The noiret sighed. “I know. I _know_ I deserve to be happy, I-I _know_ people are going to be fine, I _know_ everything is going to be alright, I _know_ people will be there for me, but just saying that to me isn’t helping anything!” He let go of Neil’s hand and brought it up to his knees, burying his face into his arms. “The only one who can help me right now are medical professionals… but I don’t like them. Offices suck.”

Neil thought about his next words. “I mean, sure, medical professionals might be the only ones who can _actually_ help, but we can be there to support you. They can handle the big things… and… we can handle the small things.” He scooted a bit closer, causing Max to get on his knees and face the brunet. “Like right now. A doctor or therapist aren’t the only ones who can make you feel better emotionally, right?”

A smile started forming on Jones’ face. 

Another sound of a fake laser hitting a target. 

Neil took Max’s hands in his own. “I’m not going back out there… so… anything you wanna do?”

The noiret stared at Neil for a few seconds before smirking. He leaned close. “I can think of something.”

* * *

**(7:01 PM)**

Nikki snorted as the trio observed the scoreboard. “You suck.” She lightly punched Max in the upper arm, making him almost spill his drink. 

“Eh.” He shrugged after stabilizing himself. “I never got hit.”

“Buuuuuuut, you never got anyone else! So, you suck!”

“I’m okay with that.” 

The girl giggled before hopping away to look at whatever Ered was doing. 

“They need to hook-up. This is getting exhausting to look at.” 

Neil stuffed his hands in his hoodie. “At least you didn’t have to deal with it for three years.”

“One good thing of not being here.” Sneakily, Max shoved his free hand into Neil’s hoodie pocket, effectively holding one of the taller’s hands.

Neil’s blue eyes flickered down at the other’s actions. “You could’ve asked.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” He sipped his third milkshake of the day.

Neil watched him. “How did I never realize you had a sweet tooth?”

The noiret side-eyed him. “We were in a camp where candy was outlawed. Couldn’t really divulge that… though there was that one day where Dolph had all that candy. Surprised you didn’t catch that.” He took another sip. A long one this time.

“Well, I was too busy trying to calm a hyper Nikki and criticizing you for manipulating Dolph so you could make money.”

Max released his lips around the straw. “I did do that, huh?”

Neil nodded, an ‘are you serious’ look on his face.

“I need to start doing that again.”

“What?!” 

“On random people, not y’all.” Max reassured. “If I really wanted to, I could probably run the school.”

“Somehow I don’t doubt that.”

“Good. You shouldn’t.” 

They stood in silence. 

“Hey, since we only have, like, ten minutes, you wanna do a photo booth or something? With Nikki?”

Neil looked to his sister. “Yeah, why not?”

* * *

**February 13th, 2020**

“I mean, do you wanna do something tomorrow?” Max leaned against the wall, ignoring the chaos going on in the living room.

“Well, we haven’t gone on an actual date…” Neil stated. “I was, um, thinking we go to that diner we went to back in September.”

“Hm, yeah. We can do that. It’ll make up for our first anniversary.” Max grinned. “Wanna do it in the morning, afternoon…?”

“Afternoon.” Neil said. “After… maybe we could see _Birds of Prey_ in the theater?”

Max instantly brightened at that. “Yeah! I’ve been wanting to see that, anyway.” 

“Okay.” The brunet pulled his phone out, setting a reminder. 

Just as he was doing this, Ered passed by. 

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…” 

She was covering her red face and was walking quickly. The boys observed her as she entered a bathroom, then looked down the hall. Soon, Nikki came out, her face also red.

“What the fuck happened?”

With an embarrassed face, Nikki confessed. “She walked in while I was changing.” Red. “I wasn’t wearing a shirt or pants.” Without another word, she shuffled into the living room.

Max looked to Neil. “Maybe something’s finally happening.”

“Maybe.” He exited out of the app, then stared at his messages. “Hey, go see if Space Kid and Dolph are done making their fudgesicle milkshakes.”

“...oookaay?” The younger boy pushed himself off of the wall and evaded the pillows being thrown around on his way to the kitchen. 

**Thurs, Feb 13, 4:27 PM**

**You good?**

**Ered: yea i’m fine**

Neil considered asking her if she finally caught feelings for Nikki, but then again, walking in on anyone changing would probably be embarrassing. 

He dropped it and joined everyone else in the living room.

“They are not done.” Max flopped onto the couch, licking chocolate off his finger.

* * *

**February 18th, 2020**

“This is the dumbest thing I’ve been a part of.” Max mumbled holding a hose over an inflatable pool. 

Nerris, wrapped in a warm blanket, chuckled. “Dumber than all the games the Woodscouts made us go through?”

“Ehhhhhh…” Max looked away. “Still. Whose fuckin’ idea was this?”

“Nikki’s.” Neil answered.

“Ah.”

“And Space Kid’s.” 

“Why am I not surprised?”

Then, Preston came over, in swim trunks. He leaned over the edge of the rubber sphere. He poked the water. “It might be getting too hot. HEY, TURN IT DOWN A LITTLE!”

The sound of a knob was heard as Preston exited the room.

“Why are we doing this?” Max stood with his hip out. “Why don’t we, like… I dunno go find an actual pool to go to?”

Nerris gave him a deadpanned look, then stepped to the window. She aggressively yanked the curtain open, revealing snow on the other side.

Max shrugged. “Spa or indoor hot tub is always an option.”

“Yeah, but that costs a lot of money.” Nikki came in behind him, in a yellow bikini top and red shorts. 

“God, you’re all serious about this.” The noiret shook his head. “This is stupid.”

“Lighten up a little.” Neil nudged him. 

“I can’t, I’m br-”

“You know what I mean.”

Max slyly grinned. That smile quickly faded, though. “How much longer do I have to hold this?”

“Until the pool’s full.” Nerris peered over the edge.

“If the pool’s full and we get in, the water is going to go over the edge. That’s, like, displaced water 101.” Max hummed.

Neil leaned a little close to his lover. “You learned that from me, didn’t you?” 

“It’s something you learn in eighth grade science. Not everything was from you, smartass.”

The scientist tapped on the edge of the pool. “I like to think you learned from me. It was a lesson I taught Dolph. You were there, remember?”

Max mumbled a few words under his breath. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause I’d probably punch you right now if I didn’t.”

Neil felt nerves spike in him. “Ah. Yeah, I’d rather you not hit me, thanks.”

Max snorted, placing a light kiss on the older’s cheek. “I’m joking.”

“I know.”

They returned to doing whatever, Nerris watching. “The hell was that about?”

Nikki turned to her friend, a beaming smile present. “They’re dating.”

The older girl blinked, then snapped her finger. “I am not surprised in the slightest.” She walked closer to the pool. “How long?”

The boys looked at each other. 

Neil fumbled with his hands. “Uh… about a month now? One month anniversary was last Thursday.”

Dunkelman swirled her finger in the water. “That’s another relationship. All that’s left is...” She eyed Nikki. 

“Not gonna happen.” Nikki hastily shook her head. “She doesn’t like me like that. I’ve accepted it.” She smiled, though pain was evident. “I’ll just continue to watch from the sidelines. There’s another girl interested in her… I think.”

“One of these days.” Nerris rubbed her temple. “One of these days I’m just going tell her for you.”

“Don’t you dare!” 

“Who’s stopping me?” A grin. “Hey, Ered!”

“Stop!”

Footsteps were heard and soon, Ered walked in. “Yeah?” 

“Oh my god.” Nikki squeaked, her face immediately becoming red from seeing her crush barely clothed. Didn’t help that the color almost matched her skin.

The ex-elf’s eyes flickered at the gay-panicking girl. “What do you think of the water? Is it cool enough?”

“Sweet baby jesus- thank you-” Nikki gasped out, quietly enough so the skater wouldn’t hear.

Ered touched the water. “I think it’s fine. Could be a little warmer, but pools are usually cool.” She turned to Max and Neil. “Speaking of, you two should probably change.”

“Yeah, you should!” Nerris encouraged. “Just don’t get too touchy.” She winked.

“Shut the hell up.” Max narrowed his eyes, but turned around nonetheless, dragging Neil with him.

* * *

**(5:48 PM)**

“This is stupid.” 

“Then why are you smiling?”

“Hush.” 

A beach ball was hit.

It almost flew into Harrison, but then his hands rose up and there was a bright flash of light. The ball reappeared from the corner of the room, hitting Preston in the head from behind.

“Hey! No magic!”

Harrison smirked at him. “What was that? Couldn’t hear you over the sounds of confetti and glitter.”

Preston gasped. “Take that back, you Houdini-wannabe!” He splashed water.

“Come at me.”

And the theatre teen did. 

“Catch me.” The magician snapped his finger, disappearing and reappearing on the other side of the pool. 

Preston narrowed his eyes, a smile painting his lips. “Oh, you have no idea what you just started.” He lunged, water rippling and splashing against the sides and barely tumbling over.

Max held his hands on the edge. “Careful! The floor is carpet.”

“It’ll dry!” Preston laughed, slipping on the floor and going under.

“It’ll still stain.” Neil stared blankly, debating if he should kick the teen that was underwater. He faced Ered. “Wouldn’t want your folks getting upset over that, right?”

“I’ll blame it on the dogs. My dads love them too much to be mad.” Ered dismissed. 

Lamar and Louis were busy for the next week doing some kind of homicide case. It wasn’t that interesting to Neil, save for the mention of some kind of technology that had been used.

“Okay. Don’t come crying to us if they _do_ end up having a problem.”

“They’re not.” Neil could sense the uneasiness in her voice.

And apparently, so did Nikki. “Oh, shut up. Ered’s cool. She can get away with murder if she wanted too!”

“Maybe she’s the one who did the homicide?” Max took his covered arm out of the water, shaking the droplets off of it. 

The adventurer’s eyes sparkled. She suddenly turned to the other girl, water turning with her. “Wait, were you?” 

“Uh…” If Neil squinted, he could see the pink dusting the skater’s cheeks. “No.”

“Hm…” Nikki leaned close, staring the taller female in the eyes. “You seem nervous but you’re not lying…”

Max and Neil looked at each other, quizzical expressions on both of their faces. Eventually, Max shrugged it off and sunk further into the rubber pool, probably ignoring the world around him.

Neil decided to leave him be.

For a while, anyway.

* * *

**February 27th, 2020**

“Please remind me to never hang out with Preston again.”

Neil looked up from his book. “Why?”

The noiret slumped onto the chair. “‘Cause he dressed me up in a really, _really_ revealing outfit.”

“Excuse me,” Preston popped his head into the room. “I made you look hot!”

Max snapped a finger gun at him. “I’m already hot, bitch.”

Goodplay huffed. “I made you even hotter, then.”

“Yeah, sure, a maid outfit will make me hotter.”

Neil choked. “A _WHAT_?!”

Preston cackled.

* * *

**March 5th, 2020**

“So… I got a really threatening letter in my locker today.” Nurf flashed a folded piece of paper between his fingers. 

Dolph put his pencil down. “Who’s it from?” 

The redhead shrugged. “It was just signed ‘chicken little’.”

Nikki cocked her head. “Like the movie?”

Before anyone else could respond, Max was heard heaving a sigh. “Kind of.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It’s probably Julius.”

Many people around the room tensed up, including Neil.

“Why would he sign a letter off with ‘chicken little’ of all things?”

“It’s what I called him that time I went to his house.”

“You went to the creep’s house?!” Nikki exclaimed.

“Only twice!” Max defended. “Once for a history project, and the second time was to get Gwen after she almost murdered the kid.” He put an elbow on the table. “She was _not_ a fan of him drugging and almost raping her fourteen year-old son. Not at all.”

He was so nonchalant about saying it. It alarmed Neil a bit, knowing that Max had stated concerning things in the past with the same tone. How much of that had been true? 

“What’d it say?” 

“Oh. Uh, just said that…” The muscled teen unfolded the paper. He squinted at it. “‘My little raven.’ Huh. Oh, and some words that I can’t pronounce nor know the meaning of.”

“God fucking dammit.” Max put his face in his hands. “Anyone up for beating him up?”

Almost the whole room agreed.

_‘Raven, eh?’_

It suited him, though Neil wasn’t sure if Max would like him to call him that.

* * *

**March 6th, 2020**

“No one questioned me.” Nerris grinned, playing with the yellow and blue necklace on her neck. “I really do think we got away with this.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Preston shot back. “We should lay low a bit until the week after next week.”

“You say that as if we committed a crime.” 

“We kinda did.” Neil butted in. “We did sort of… well, assault a guy.”

Nikki jabbed her finger at her brother. “Who deserved it.”

“Who deserved it.” Neil repeated. “But we did assault him… so… yeah, we should kind of lay low a bit.”

Harrison played with a card. “Or I could try an amnesia trick.”

That was met with immediate protest. 

“The last time you tried that, you gave the girl brain damage.” Neil stated. 

“But she turned out fine!”

“After a year.”

“Yeah… well…” Harrison trailed off, choosing to instead practice tiny magic tricks that he’d already mastered. 

“Just let him be.” Max propped his legs up on the chair beside him. “If it does come back to bite us in the ass, I’ll take the blame for it. I can handle a little bit of yelling. Or hitting.”

That was also met with protests.

Among the jumble of words, Nikki and Neil’s in sync response was heard above the others. “HELL NO-” 

Max just stared ahead of him, not affected at all by the words. 

Neil saw him move his lips, but he couldn’t hear what the guy said.

* * *

**March 18th, 2020**

“Jorge and Olivia.” Ered folded her arms, leaning back in a bean bag chair. “Two of the most homophobic people I’ve ever met.” 

“I met them.” Nikki piped in. “They suck! Ria, Geo and Tulis are way better!”

“Woah, you met the family?” Max smirked. “What’d they think of you? Are you girlfriend material?” 

Nikki stared blankly, but her face said that Max wouldn’t live to see the sun the next day. Max seemed completely unbothered by it, though.

“No.” Nikki slowly said.

“Oh no.” Max blandly said. “Better luck with the other three, right?”

Nikki breathed, then clasped her hands together. “Anyway! On the topic of cousins, I haven’t seen mine in eight years! Aunt Velvet personally disowned me and my mom as family!” Despite what she said, a large smile was still on her face. “Wonder how Jade and Savannah are doing…”

“Yours disowned you?” Preston asked, then shrugged. “I guess that’s better than not knowing what happened to yours.” He leaned forward, putting his elbow on his knee. “My uncle and his wife vanished a few years back. No one’s heard from them.”

Ered perked up. “Dilon Gelman?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. He and his wife, Yolanda, are residing in Florida. Remember it from an old police report.”

“Huh.” Preston stared off into the distance.

“Oh, uh,” Harrison started, “Do you know whatever happened to someone named Kerry Penn? Or Jessie Penn?”

Ered squinted her eyes. “Is it possible that those people have kids named Hanna and Harold?”

“Yes!”

“North Maine. But I’m not supposed to tell you.”

Harrison looked at the girl in confusion for a couple moments, then his expression shifted to one of annoyance. “It’s because of my magic, isn’t it?”

The blonde shrugged. “It was something about a demon child.”

“‘Demon child’.” Nerris snickered. 

“I’d take it as a compliment.” Max grinned. “Better than being called a disappointment or a failure.”

“I used to be called a failure.” Dolph absently added.

“My mom said I was a failed abortion.” Space Kid mentioned, which got a few concerned glances. “She said she was happy it failed, though!” He quickly added.

Preston sighed. “Oh thank god. I was about to compliment that woman’s acting skills and I would rather not do that.”

The other kids stated their families… with the kids getting a little interested in Neil’s cousin, Xiomara. Who knew kids were interested in criminal justice?

“What about yours?” Nikki turned to Max. “You have cousins, right?”

The noiret bounced his leg. “Yeah. I got a couple.”

“Like…?”

“Well…” Max began counting on his fingers. “There’s Aunt Farzana and her daughter Pratyusha… Aunt Ela and her kids Fauna and Kaleb… and… _Chaachee_ Rosh with Zoey… I should really call her.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “वह कुतिया इस गर्मी में यहां होनी चाहिए।”

There was a silence and he looked up, everyone looking at him in confusion. “What? I’m bilingual.”

A chorus of “oh’s” was heard.

* * *

**April 22nd, 2020**

Max had been off.

Off for a while. 

He always seemed in thought, and he didn’t look happy. He seemed… conflicted most of the time.

The brunet invited him to little hangouts, they went on a couple dates, had a few sleepovers… but that didn’t seem to change things. It put Neil on edge. He tried to bring it up, but Max was quick to deflect it. 

He knew he had to be patient, but _fuck_ , it was getting frustrating. He wanted to help, and he felt that he was. 

But it wasn’t enough. 

He knew it wasn’t enough. 

So what could he do?

Corner him in his room, of course.

“I’m serious, Max.” Neil exasperated, leaning against the door and ignoring the claws on the other side. “I’m tired of you not telling me what’s wrong. Please,” He stared at the teen on his bed. “Just tell me what’s on your mind.”

Max shook his head, though a smile was present on his face. “It’s stupid.” He mumbled.

“Even if it’s stupid, please, just tell me.”

“I can’t.” 

“Yes, you can.” Neil tried not to sound aggressive. He wasn’t being aggressive, right? God, he hoped he wasn’t. Max didn’t need that.

“I can’t.” Max reaffirmed.

Neil bit his lip, hoping that he’d be good at this. Slowly, the scientist approached his boyfriend. “Listen,” He started, “I know that you think that whatever you’re going through, you can handle on your own. But, y’know, it would help a lot if you could just tell what’s been on your mind.”

Max refused to look at him.

Neil played with his fingers. “You’ve been like this for a few months. I want to help. I-” He breathed. “Is it that you think we can’t help? Are we not enough?” That seemed to affect Max. “Am I not-?”

The noiret turned to the brunet. “It’s not that you aren’t enough!” He was quick to reassure. “It’s just…” He fumbled with his hands, clearly debating with himself in his mind. “I…” 

Neil waited. _‘Just let him say it.’_

“I…” The shorter pulled on his hoodie. “Jesus, fuck… I…” He sighed. “I wanna see my parents.”

Wait, _what?_

“You… what?”

“I know, they put me through hell for almost my whole life, but I just… I just want to see them.” Max looked down to his hands. “They’re in prison. They can’t hurt me.” Those hands turned into fists. “I just need answers.”

“Answers? For what?” Neil was confused, no, _beyond_ confused. Those people were dangerous. Why would Max want to go back to them?

“I wanna know why they did all that.”

Neil furrowed his brows, gently placing a hand on Max’s shoulder. “Max, you don’t need to get answers for that from them. You know why.” He paused, wondering if he should say what he was about to say. _‘They hated you.’_ He decided to reword it. “They were shitty parents who didn’t know how good of a son they had.”

A quiet chuckle escaped the noiret. “Maybe it was me who was the shitty one…”

“No.” Neil immediately refuted. “It was them. Tell me, is it good to beat your children?”

“No.”

“To manipulate your children?”

“Eh…”

“ _Max_.”

Max huffed. “...no.”

“To lie to your children?” Neil blinked. “Uh, maliciously.”

“Maliciously? Probably not.”

“You said ‘no’ to all of those. So, by your standards, a good parent doesn’t hit their children, doesn’t manipulate them, and doesn’t lie to them with malicious intent… among other things like that.” The nerd scooted closer to Max. “So, also by your standards, your parents were terrible.” He looked his boyfriend in the eyes. “You don’t need to see them.”

Max stared back. His green eyes screamed at Neil that he believed him, but his face as a whole suggested otherwise. “No.” He pushed Neil’s hands off of him. “No, I have to hear it from them.”

“You don’t.”

“I do.” Max gave a wobbly smile. “Please, Neil,” He leaned into the other, their foreheads almost touching. “I’ll be okay. What’s a little more hell?”

“...I don’t want you to get hurt again.”

“I won’t.”

“You don’t know that.” Neil closed his eyes.

Max made a noise of uncertainty. 

He couldn’t. He couldn’t let Max go. 

...not alone at least.

“Let me go with you.” 

“Huh?”

The brunet backed away. “I don’t even have to go in the room with you. Just let me go and at least stand outside.”

Max seemed to consider it.

“Please, Max. I want to be there.”

Eventually, Max gave in. “Fine. But I don’t know when I’ll be doing it.”

“That’s okay. Just do it when you’re ready.” _‘It’s not okay.’_

“Alright.”

A part of Neil hoped Max would change his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays! <3 <3  
> [art](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sVDxVwWOu4PYaeSegZw8pXE65giX48uv_0wjbWVaf6U/edit?usp=sharing)  
> [DAVID (AND GWEN) ARE A BIT OVERPROTECTIVE](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J622ffcrMF-X6uksufG2pCnkDCE4sP1R4CMEM-HHhfw/edit?usp=sharing)


	16. Strawberry Sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what the fuck has this story become  
> second longest chapter ~~yea bois~~  
>  **Warnings: _**Max's parents_ , mention of molestation, slight homophobia (not really but it's kinda there), & talking of Max's history**

“You did not make that.”

“Uh, yeah I did.”

“No, you did not.”

“I can literally show you all the planning.”

“But it’s so good!”

“What, you thought I’d do a horrible job?”

“No! I just… didn’t think it’d be this good.”

Max snorted, tossing the short dress onto the bed. “I hope she likes it. I spent a shit ton of time on it.”

Neil leaned back against the rolling chair. “She should. If not… you could give it to, like… I don’t know, one of your cousins?”

“They’re in India.” Max retorted, grabbing a large bag and hanger. 

“Oh.” A thought popped into the nerd’s mind. “Hey, when was the last time you saw all of them?”

“Couple Christmas’ ago.” The noiret shrugged, grabbing the dress. He pulled the straps inside the dress out and chucked them onto the plastic hanger. 

Neil slowly nodded. “Heard anything from Zoey?”

“Haven’t called.”

“Why not?”

Max shrugged. “I don’t know. What am I supposed to say? ‘Hey, I got abused for two years’?” He shook his head. “Man, she’s gonna hate herself when she finds out…”

“She won’t.”

“How’d you feel when you found out?” The noiret shot back.

Neil considered what he said. “Okay, fair.”

Max flattened the bag out, careful not to tear anything, and placed it in the closet. He closed it after. “I really should, though.”

“You have her number, right?”

“Yeah. ‘Less she changed it, but I doubt that. She’s had the same number since she was nine.” 

“When’s the next time she-?”

Max cut him off. “Summer. _Chaachee_ Rosh is finally coming down to see me.”

“Finally?”

“Refused to come by after learning my parents were arrested. Zoey asked about what happened… all I told her was that they were taken in for neglect.”

“She doesn’t know about the physical?”

“I don’t think so. Rosh doesn’t like to talk negatively about her brother and sister-in-law.”

“I don’t know if I’m supposed to like or not like your aunt.”

“Doesn’t matter to me.” Max looked at his phone. “You got a suit yet?”

“No.”

Max grinned. “Perfect. I don’t either. Wanna go get some?”

“Can’t you make them?”

“Probably. I don’t feel like it, though.”

Neil frowned a little, loving the idea of wearing something Max made. “Alright.”

“I want a blue one.”

“Of course you would.”

The pair headed out the door, only having their feet and buses to get to the mall. There were a couple places in the smaller city that sold suits and dresses and fancy clothing like that, but both males trusted the mall more. Plus, they liked the large building better anyway. 

Max intertwined their fingers. “Nikki still doesn’t have a dress, right?”

“She does now.”

“No, I mean-”

“I know what you mean. And no, I don’t think so.” Neil tightened his grasp around the other’s hand. “Honestly, I don’t if she even wants to go to _this_ dance. She’s never been this bummed out about Ered before.”

Max was quiet for a moment. “Maybe it’s because Nerris and Harrison got together last year, and now me and you are together. And Nurf has that one guy.” He paused. “People all around her are finding others and she’s just… stuck. Ered’s even found a couple people. They don’t seem to last, though.”

“Nikki constantly has an open window. She just never takes it.”

“She’s scared.” The shorter one reasoned. “It’s, what, her first ever crush? Her longest one? The one that keeps coming back? She’s probably terrified of rejection.” 

Neil glanced at Max, seeing a small smile quirk up.

“But I swear Ered’s got the hots for her. You’ve seen her when she’s around Nik, right? Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s noticed this.”

Neil blinked, thinking back on all the interactions the girls have had. “I… haven’t really paid that much attention.”

“ _Oh my god_ , Neil.” Max let out a distressed groan. “Next time we’re with them, you gotta look. Notice how Ered’s been calling more? Or that they’re hanging out more? You have to have noticed that.”

Neil would admit, he had indeed noticed that the two gals had been communicating a lot more since February. Now that he thought about it, there were a couple moments where Ered seemed to lose her coolness around Nikki. Whether that was forgetting something or accidentally showing off the emotions she did actually have. 

But maybe that was just her slipping. It didn’t mean the skater liked Nikki back.

Right?

* * *

**April 30th, 2020 (4:52 PM)**

Wrong.

Ered was currently sitting on a bench near the football field, the threads of what was supposed to be a bracelet in her hands. She played with them absently, her grey-blue eyes more focused on the giggling green-haired girl in front of her.

After what felt like hours, Nikki had finally noticed the other’s stare.

“You need help?” Multiple hand-crafted bracelets hung from Nikki’s wrist.

Miller blinked, seemingly bringing herself back to reality. Her face reddened and her words became a mess. “What-? Huh? Oh, me? Oh, no, I’m okay. I got this.” She lowered her head, her face bumbling in red.

Nikki tilted her head, confused. “You okay, Ered?”

The blonde’s head shot up. “Who’s Ered?”

“...you?”

“Yeah, yeah, uh…”

Oh, Ered had it _bad_. She was a complete _mess_.

And _goddammit_ , Nikki was oblivious to it all.

“You gotta be fuckin’ kidding me.” Max mumbled beside Neil.

He seemed to notice Nikki’s complete unawareness to the situation that was literally in front of her, too.

* * *

**May 2nd, 2020 (3:08 PM)**

Nerris stared. “You’re joking.”

Max shook his head.

“No. No, you’re not serious.”

“We are.” Max hummed.

A grin broke out onto the girl’s lips. “Oh, this is great! Ered likes her back!” She cheered, both hands in fists in the air. 

“It _is_ pretty great, right?” Max laid on his stomach, his arm hanging off the sofa. “Too bad Nikki doesn’t know that Ered likes her.”

The ex-elf froze, her eye twitching for a moment. “What?” Her voice was quiet, but full of violence.

Eventually, she let out a rather aggressive exhale. “Two oblivious gays.” Nerris huffed, shooting a look at Max. “Sounds familiar, eh?”

Neil put a hand up. “In our defense, neither of us were obvious.”

Dunkelman pouted. “Damn.” She ran a hand through her curly hair. “Y’know, you’re right. I never even noticed Neil had a thing for you.”

“And in _my_ defense, I didn’t know I had a thing for him until September.”

“Damn.” Nerris repeated. 

Everyone was quiet for a while.

“Anyone wanna set them up?”

“Oh, hell yeah.”

* * *

**May 6th, 2020 (6:29 PM)**

At this point, everyone except the girls had caught on. It wasn’t like Max, Neil, or Nerris told them, no, everyone figured it out.

Hell, Neil overheard some of Ered’s exes talking about it. And Nikki’s friends. It was like that whole universe was talking about the fact that _the damn skater finally fucking likes the green one_. 

Now they just had to figure out how the hell they were going to get the two most oblivious people ever to date. 

They tried setting them up on a date. Didn’t work like intended. They tried playing secret admirer, making it painfully obvious who it was from. Ered threw hers away and Nikki ended up eating hers. They tried mistletoe, even though it wasn’t anywhere close to the holidays anymore. When the girls were finally under the plant, Ered hit it down and Nikki… well, she ate it. Then she almost had to go to the hospital because it was plastic. 

Now, Neil was lounging around in his empty house while Max was off with Preston and Nerris in their latest attempt of getting the two together. 

He briefly wondered if the girls knew and were just trolling… nah, no way. All the stuttering and flustered messes were too real to be fake. There was no way either of them were _that_ good of actors. 

**Wed, May 6, 2020 (6:29 PM)**

**Max <3: it’s a bust, man**

**Max <3: these two**

**Max <3: i’m going to lose my mind stg**

**Max <3: if they don’t get together by nik’s bday i’m going to squish their heads together and make them kiss or spike their drinks so they fuck**

**Don’t do that.**

**Max <3: i wouldn’t**

**Max <3 but i want to**

**Max <3: ugh two blind dumbasses in love**

**Max <3: wait shit they might know we’re here**

Neil chuckled to himself, letting his phone slip from his fingers and onto his mattress. He walked out of his room, passing by Nikki’s. His eyes flickered to the inside of it, gaze stopping on a cylinder black bottle sitting on Nikki’s desk. 

He entered his sister’s room, trying his hardest to not step on anything. Who knew what was actually an animal skin and what wasn’t? Nothing smelled dead, so maybe she had finally grown out of that. Didn’t want to risk it though; he was only in socks, after all.

He reached the bottle and grabbed it, a devious grin coming to his face as he saw what it said. _Into the Night_. It was Ered’s. It had to be. The bottle had half of it missing and Neil knew for a fact that the blonde wore it daily.

Why’d Nikki have it though?

Oh well.

The nerd turned to his sister’s bed, popping the lid off. He maneuvered over to the bed and pointed the bottle at the pillow, finger over the button. 

_‘Don’t spray too much.’_ He reminded himself.

He put a little bit of pressure onto the button and observed as the mist emitted from the top of the bottle. He clicked the top back on and placed it back on the desk, turning it so it seemed like it was never moved in the first place.

Then he just carried on his day as usual, waking up the next one to a girl with a red face. 

He knew they probably shouldn’t meddle with their relationship, but it was fun. Besides, when were they going to realize it naturally? When they’re fifty? He’d rather spare them of all the lost time. 

They’d thank them one day.

* * *

**May 11th, 2020 (3:57 PM)**

“Fuck.” Max mumbled, hand running through his hair as he stared at his phone. 

“Just press the button.”

“I’ve been trying for the past five minutes- hey!” 

While Max was distracted, Neil reached over and clicked the green phone button for the other, which sent the noiret into a panic.

“You assho- hey, Zoey!” He shot Neil a look that basically told him that he wasn’t exactly going to be alive later.

“I’ll leave you to it.” The brunet stalked out the door, quickly coming face to face with Cinnamon. He bent down to her level, rubbing her head. The dog panted, then licked the nerd’s hand. She moved past the teen, nudging the door with her head.

“He’s busy.” Neil spoke.

Cinnamon whined, a paw gently touching the wooden door. 

“He’s busy.” Neil repeated.

With a slight frustrated growl, Cinnamon stood on her hind legs and put both paws to the knob of the door, effectively twisting it enough for it to open. 

Before Neil could fully comprehend what had just occurred before him, the saluki had slipped into the room and actually shut the door behind her with a gentle kick. 

_‘Smart dog, I guess.’_ Reluctantly, the scientist slinked away from the door, letting Max talk to his cousin in privacy.

* * *

**(4:24 PM)**

After what was probably an hour, Max came lumbering down the stairs, eyes slightly red and cheeks not properly dried. Neil perked up at the sight, concern instantly filling his face. He relaxed a little when the other smiled, showing that he was okay. 

Didn’t mean Neil liked seeing Max like that.

“Everything go okay?”

Max nodded. “Yeah.” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “At this point, I don’t know who hates my parents the most.”

“Everyone does.”

“Not everyone. Zoey hung up on me when she got into a heated argument with her mom. I love my aunt, but she’s so fuckin’ stubborn when it comes to _pita_.”

Neil didn’t know why, but everytime Max referred to his biological father as _pita_ , it unsettled him.

“Anyway,” Max flopped onto the couch beside Neil, cuddling up on the brunet’s side. “She wants to talk to you when she’s calm.”

“Oh. Uh, alright.” He reciprocated to the other’s touch.

* * *

**(7:59 PM)**

It took another three hours before Zoey called back. Max had just wordlessly tossed his phone at the nerd, opting to eat another slice of Italian bread before heading back into the kitchen. 

Neil stared at the contact name and photograph. The image was a girl who barely looked related to Max. She had fiery orange eyes, a sharp jawline, straight black hair, and she seemed tall. 

Max really inherited nothing from his father, did he?

**“Neil?”** Zoey questioned, her tone sounded as if she was guessing his name. 

Neil nodded slowly, seeing the controlled excitement rise in the girl’s face. **“Oh my god, hi! It’s so nice to finally meet you! I’m Zoey. Zoey Amoli Jani.”**

“Uh…”

**“You don’t have to recite your whole name. Anyway!”** There was a loud crash in the background. Zoey smiled sheepishly. **“Don’t mind her, she’s just in denial over the fact that her brother and his wife are two pieces of donkey shit… you know about that, right?”**

“Huh-? Oh, yeah! And yeah, his parents are the fucking worst.”

Jani nodded. **“By the way, who’s he living with now? He forgot to tell me.”**

Neil blinked at her. _‘Get over your social anxiety, you fucking coward!’_

**“Neil…?”**

“Sorry, sorry… uh, he’s with his, er, our old camp counselors. Da-”

**“David and Gwen, right? He told me about them.”** She paused. **“How’d that happen? Did he tell them… or…?”**

He didn’t exactly feel comfortable telling Max’s story, but he also didn’t want to put Max through it again. He sighed, trying to remember everything.

“Well…”

* * *

**May 13th, 2020 (6:37 PM)**

“Who allowed this?” Max whispered, hitting Neil in the knee with his own knee. 

“The school did.”

“Why would they allow Preston to make this?”

Neil shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“How did he convince the school to give all of us front row seats?” He gestured to the rest of the row, which consisted of their friend group.

“I don’t know.”

“And how the fuck did he manage to get the school to _delay_ the goddamn play until we got here?”

_“I don’t know.”_

Earlier, Preston had pterodactyl screeched over the phone at the couple, telling them to get their asses over to the school. He was performing a play. 

One that hit a little too close to home.

Because it was literally based on the events that had happened during the year. 

The theater geek hadn’t shared much of his script, just the parts that were the most important. 

And even then he didn’t showcase much.

“This is gonna be so embarrassing…”

“No one’s gonna know it’s based off of us.”

Max slumped in his seat. “That’s assuming Preston _didn’t_ base it off of us. Which, news flash, he did. The actors are probably gonna look like us.”

 _Yikes_ , Neil hadn’t thought about that. Before he could say anything else, the lights dimmed and the curtains opened. Only a little though.

Preston’s voice was heard through the speakers. “This is a story about two boys who were separated.”

Unintentionally, Neil also slipped down in his seat, suddenly not wanting to show his face.

“This is gonna be fuckin’ awful.” Max whispered, feeling around for Neil’s hand.

Neil found Max’s hand instead, webbing their fingers together. “Should we leave?”

“We can’t.”

“Fuck.”

* * *

**(7:00 PM)**

Preston never got to the end of the play. Why? Because someone managed to pull the fire alarm and caused the whole building to evacuate.

It wasn’t Max or Neil, though. They were both rooted in their seats, unable to get up.

Preston was pissed and disappointed. He asked the boys if they had at least liked what he had given them. Max replied with honesty, “no”, but Neil was a bit nicer.

“It wasn’t bad.” Neil reassured. “I just didn’t like it because it was about _me_.”

Max followed up on the statement, asserting that he felt the same. 

Preston looked like he had felt a little better.

“Please just don’t make another play that is that personal. I don’t exactly want people to know about my situation.” The noiret told Goodplay. “I know you wanted to make something that would make me happy, and I appreciate it, but…”

Preston nodded, understanding. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Max lightly punched the other’s arm. “Just… don’t do that again.”

“Can I at least perform a small show for our friend group?”

Max and Neil looked at eachother. 

The noiret huffed, a smile overtaking his lips. “Don’t make it too long.”

Preston squealed.

Neil nudged the noiret. “Look at you, being nice.”

Max held the taller teen’s hand. “I have no clue what you’re talkin’ about. Max isn’t nice.”

“Days at camp would like to differ.”

“Shush.”

“Make me.”

“Fine.” Max smirked, a knowing look coming to his face. In a swift motion, he pulled Neil down into a dip. He waited until Neil had collected himself before firmly kissing him. Neil welcomed it, wrapping an arm around the other’s neck. After a couple more seconds, Max pulled away and helped the scientist to his feet. They were both red in the face.

“WAIT, ARE YOU DATING TOO?!” 

They turned to see Preston, stars in his eyes and the most fanboy-ish look ever on his face.

“And now he knows.” Max stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Preston screamed. 

Their poor eardrums.

* * *

**May 14th, 2020 (2:58 PM)**

“You’re welcome, by the way.” Harrison threw his top hat to the table like a frisbee. 

“For what?” Neil dropped his bag onto the wooden floor. He had agreed to help the magician with a history project. 

“For pulling the fire alarm last night.”

“Wh-? That was you? How did-?” Neil paused, observing the other levitating a pencil. “Nevermind. Uh, thanks.”

Perel nodded. “I love Preston and his plays and all that, but… yeah, this one was especially bad…” He patted his cat’s head. Its ear twitched. “He was about to reveal all of Max’s trauma and I felt like Max wouldn’t have appreciated that.”

“Yeah, he… he didn’t really like the play either. But he’s letting Preston perform one for us.”

“Really?” Harrison raised an eyebrow. “I thought Max would’ve choked Preston out while cursing his whole family.”

Neil laughed. “He probably would’ve back in our camp days. Not now, though. He’s…” A gentle smile formed on his face. “He’s become a lot softer. Probably from… y’know…”

Harrison grimaced, understanding. “Ah…” 

The two sat in a silence for a moment. 

“Uh, so… what do you know about Genghis Khan?”

* * *

**May 16th, 2020 (4:41 PM)**

Nikki bounced beside him, excited for whatever surprise Max had for her. 

“Max’s surprise gifts are always so nice!” She cheered. “Back at camp, he had found his really big stick! I used it to club the Wood Scouts when they tried to invade!”

“And you chewed it.”

“And I chewed it!” She cleared her throat. “Oh, and the sweater he made!”

“He made you a sweater?”

“It was red with squirrels on it!” Nikki unfolded her legs, letting them hang off the couch. “...I think I still have it somewhere.” Her face beamed. “Treasure hunt!”

She was happy. 

Neil was happy that she was happy.

Nikki’s attention shifted from the conversation to the stairs when she heard footsteps and a bag rustling. Her excitement grew.

Max came down the stairs, bag over his shoulder.

Curiosity immediately dominated the girl’s face. “Whuzzat?”

Max didn’t say a word, just continued down the stairs. He walked over to the two on the couch, then placed the bag on Nikki’s lap. 

It took a second, but Nikki realized what it was. A hint of disappointment briefly crossed her face.

Yeah, she probably hadn’t been planning to go.

Carefully lifting the bag off, her expression changed a bit. “Woah…” Her hand glided over the sequins, clearly interested in them more than the dress itself at the moment. 

“I was gonna make it for Homecoming, but you didn’t go.” Max explained. “But, since there’s the spring dance, I decided to just go ahead and make it.”

“Wait, wait, wait… you _made_ this?!” 

“Just for you.”

Nikki’s opinion of the dress seemed to change instantly. “That’s so cool!” She went back to admiring it. She looked at the sleeves… or lack of them. “How did you know??”

Max’s eyes flickered at Neil. Nikki caught on.

“How the heck did I end up with friends like you?” She held the article of clothing close. 

“We were at a shitty summer camp and we tried to steal a bus. Solid friendship right there.” Max’s voice carried a bit of amusement. 

“We _did_ try to steal a bus, didn’t we?¨ Maxwell grinned. ¨Oh! We should do that again this summer!” Her face dimmed. “You.... you’re both going back to camp… right?”

“I am.” Max answered. 

Nikki turned to her stepbrother. He shifted. “Of course I’m going.”

The girl cheered, placing the dress down and throwing a hug around Neil. She opened her arm up as a way to tell Max to ‘get the fuck over here’. He obliged and Nikki’s grip softened, probably as a way to not hurt him. 

_“I hope you learned that before today, you only had one little bastard to deal with. But now you’ve got three.”_

_Neil innocently smiled up at the counselors, as if he had done nothing wrong._

_“Let’s go guys. I’ll take you to your tent.”_

_Nikki cheered beside the shorter boy, clearly excited. She ran up ahead a bit, kicking at random rocks._

_“So,” Max started, keeping his eyes forward. “Tomorrow I was thinking we try to escape again.” He looked up. “You in?”_

_Neil hesitated a moment. There was something about this kid that made Neil not be able to say no. “Yeah, of course.”_

_He almost felt like a different person. He wasn’t one to purposely do something to get him in trouble (unless it was correcting a teacher and insisting the correction no matter how much the teacher tried to dismiss it), but this was… different. These were adults and kids who he wouldn’t ever see again… unless he was sent back here next summer or after they escape._

_“Good. Hey, can you make anything cool with your science brain?” Max pulled on a tent flap, lifting it._

_Neil stepped in, seeing Max’s stuff already sitting around the right side of the tent, the left plain and bare. The cots looked uncomfortable and the blankets looked thin. Nothing about this seemed comfortable or clean._

_“There’s only two cots.”_

_“She can sleep on the floor.” Max squinted at Nikki, who was still outside. “She seems like the type.”_

_He was right, she did._

_Max pulled himself onto his dingy bed. “You never answered my question.”_

_“Huh? Oh, uh… maybe? I don’t know if I have the right materials to do that. This place doesn’t seem to even have the basics.”_

_“We can harass David into getting them. The guy has a ton of guitars.” Max pointed at his head, his eyes seemingly half-lidded permanently and a light smile on his lips. “Could hit him over the head with it. Maybe that’ll make his brain work.”_

_Neil didn’t know why, but he laughed at the joke. When he managed to open an eye, he saw Max staring quizzically at him._

_“Sorry, sorry, it just… I don’t know why, but that was really funny to me.”_

_Max continued to look confused._

_Before the two could continue their scheming, Nikki burst in. “Hey guys, David and Gwen said two people per tent.” Her face didn’t show any hint of frustration or any negative emotion at all._

_“I’ll get the metal pipe.”_

_“Wha-? Why?” Neil cocked his head._

_Max shrugged. “I can get behind him and crack his skull with it. Maybe then he’ll let the three of us stay here.”_

_“That could kill him!”_

_Max waved him off. “He’s David. He can’t die. Trust me, I've tried.”_

They never did succeed in trying to get Nikki to be able to stay. At the end of the day though, he was rather glad they failed. He wouldn’t have gotten all those moments with Max if she had.

* * *

**May 17th, 2020 (4:11 PM)**

Neil was confused. 

Well, kind of. 

He both knew and didn’t know why Ered had dragged him to the nearest grocery store in hopes of finding some jewelry. 

He wasn’t an expert on that kind of thing. Not at all. If anything, she should’ve asked Max. He even said that to her and she had replied saying that Max wouldn’t be able to do anything.

But he also knew why she had asked specifically him to come help her. 

It was because Nikki was his stepsister.

He didn’t say that to her face, no, but it was quite literally the only explanation. Ered and him never hung out together.

It had to be for Nikki. 

Which was why he was looking at the simple stuff. Nikki wasn’t someone who liked the fancier necklaces and rings. Not even on Ered.

Ered had gone off to look for shoes after Neil had affirmed over and over that he could find something for the skater. 

But that was proving to be a little difficult. 

Ered stated that she wanted a necklace. 

Sure, there were some extremely simple ones. But they were _too_ simple. Neil wanted to get one that would stand out, but not stand out too much. 

The ones he was looking at were all silver- or, well… clear- and round pendants. They all looked the same and they all looked boring. 

Standing straight, Neil looked elsewhere. Looking at something so plain and boring was really taking its toll on him.

“Hey, can I help you?”

Neil looked up, seeing a girl with bright red hair and gold rings and bracelets covering her arms. 

“Uh…” He studied her more closely. She was behind the glass counters and… _‘Duh, she works here.’_ “Yeah, actually. My friend wants a necklace to impress my sister. She wants, uh, wants something simple but not too simple… does that make sense?”

“Hm…” The girl tapped her fingers on her lips thoughtfully. “Hey, is your sister by any chance named Nikki? You seem familiar.”

Neil blinked. “...yes, she is...?”

“Ramona.”

Wait, _that’s_ Ramona? The last time he’d seen her was last year and she had jet black hair and wore those silly bands all the time. How does someone change so drastically in that amount of time?

“I look different, I know.” She leaned against the counter. “How’s Nikki been?”

“The same.” Neil shrugged before adding something else. “A lot happier.”

Ramona tilted her head. “Why’s that? Is she finally over Ered?”

“Nah.” Neil almost laughed. “Actually, that friend wanting to impress Nikki _is_ Ered.”

“No.” Ramona stared with bewilderment in her eyes. “Really? My baby’s growing up…” She chuckled. “Goddamn. Next thing you’re gonna tell me is that you’re dating someone.”

Neil smiled nervously. “Actually…”

“No…” The redhead had the most amused look on her face. She let out an excited but sudden cry. “Ah, seriously?! Who is it? C’mon Mr. Nerd, tell me who it is!”

“His name’s Max.”

“‘His’? It’s a boy?!” She gasped, the smile on her face growing. “That’s exci-” Then that smile dropped. “Wait, Max? As in ‘kid who abandoned you' Max?”

“Uh… yes…? But!” He wanted to let her know before she could become angry. She only knew Max through what the others told her and as far as she knew, he wasn’t a good person. “He didn’t abandon us. See…” How could he say this without delving into personal stuff? “Max wasn’t allowed to see us. He tried to, but… that led to him getting hurt… he almost got killed.” 

Neil saw the girl’s face soften a bit. “But he’s okay now. He’s healing. Me and Nikki are always going to be there for him when he needs it.”

Ramona slowly nodded. “You said he got hurt. How…?”

Neil shifted awkwardly. “He, um…” Was she ever even going to meet him? 

…

...probably, actually, since she and Nikki were close.

“His parents weren’t good parents.”

And that was all he needed to say for her to understand.

“Ah.” She stood. “Anyway… this necklace is for Nikki, right?”

Oh right, he was here to get a necklace. “For Ered to wear to impress Nikki.”

“Right.” She shuffled away. “If I know NIkki…” 

Neil stood there, watching the girl fumble around. She went through a few boxes, pulling smaller ones out of it. It wasn’t long before she seemed to find what she was looking for.

“Here.” She held the white box out for Neil to take. 

And he did.

Neil pulled the top off, seeing what looked like a cube on a thin chain. He gingerly took the cube out. When he did, it’s color went from a crystal clear white to a multitude of colors.

“Simple but not simple, right?”

“Yeah.” Neil breathed, closing the box. “So, how-”

“Nothin’.”

“Huh?”

“Those boxes down there? Those are all the gifts my grandfather gave to my mother. Since he was recently exposed to being a predator, my mom decided she wanted nothing to do with him, so she wants me to sell them.” She leaned against the counter. “The manager agreed to let me do whatever I wanted with ‘em. I don’t have to scan them or anything.”

“Oh… I’m sorry. About your grandfather and stuff.”

“Don’t be. I hated him from the very moment I was born. He hated me too.”

“But weren’t you, like, the calmest child ever?”

Ramona snorted. “Not around him, I wasn’t. Tore his hair out, bit his nose, punched him in the throat, kicked him in the chin… shot him with a BB gun once… maybe that’s why he never molested me.”

“That… uh…”

Ramona shrugged. “It’s how I cope. Anyway…” She looked over to see another customer having difficulties. She quickly pulled a piece of paper out and a pen and scribbled a few numbers down. “Say hi to Nikki for me, ‘kay?” 

“Alright.” Neil watched as she tended to the struggling woman. 

“You got girls’ number.” Ered approached from behind the nerd.

He yelped. “Oh, uh, actually it’s for Nikki.”

“...oh.”

“That’s Ramona.” 

“...oh...oh! Rammy!” She looked over at the redhead. “Wow, she’s changed.” The skater glanced at her phone. “Fuck. I really wanna talk to her but we gotta go… did you get anything?”

“Yeah, she gave me this.” Neil handed the box over. 

Ered looked inside and smiled. “I like this.”

_‘And Nikki will love it.’_

* * *

**May 18th, 2020 (5:04 PM)**

There was a knock at the door and behind it stood Max.

He seemed nervous. 

“Hey…?”

“Today.”

“Huh?”

Max breathed in. “I know it’s sudden, but I’m going today. To see them.”

Neil blinked. “Y- oh, uh, you are?”

“Yeah. You don’t have to come, since it’s on short notice…”

“No, no, I’m coming.”

Max hissed under his breath. “Shit.” 

Lowenthal paused for a moment before swiftly turning around and finding his shoes. 

Judging my Max’s reaction, he had wanted Neil to say no.

But Neil wasn’t going to let him go alone. It was his job as his boyfriend to make sure he’s happy and safe and right now, his safety was more important. Sure, it’d be even safer if he didn’t go at all, but Max really wanted to do this. So Neil just needed to make it as safe as possible.

Plus, he might see what Max’s parents look like.

Neil reached the shoe closet.

“Where’re you going?” 

Neil looked behind him, seeing Nikki. She had a bowl of cereal on her hands.

“Oh, um…” If Max didn’t want him going, he certainly didn’t want her to go either. And if he told her, she’d definitely tag along. “Me and Max are going on a… date. Yeah, a date.” He sounded fake as hell, but Nikki seemed to buy it. Maybe she couldn’t tell he was lying because of the crunch of the cereal. 

Oh well, didn’t matter. 

“Oh. Where are you going?”

“Movie date.”

“Ooh, fun! Are you going to see that movie about the nun?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool! Tell me what you thought about it when you get back!”

Luckily he and Max had gone earlier with Harrison and Nerris, so telling her what he thought wouldn’t be an issue. Double dates were… interesting, though. They had asked so many questions about their relationship. 

Slipping his shoes on, he raced back to the door to find Max still standing there. _‘Good…’_ A part of him thought Max was going to leave when go alone when the brunet went to get shoes.

As he was stepping out, Nikki called over. “Have fun on your date!”

Max looked at his boyfriend in confusion as the door shut. “I said we were going on a date.”

“Ah.” Max started towards Gwen’s car.

Despite the front seat being open, Max climbed into the back. Neil followed him. Before Neil had even gotten his seatbelt on, the car started moving. Gwen wasn’t one to wait to make sure everyone was buckled up, Neil figured. In a way, he liked that.

“Alright, listen up you two. Max only gets two hours to talk to _them_.”

“Don’t prisoners get more time than that?”

“Well, yeah,” Gwen’s gaze flickered at him through the rear view mirror, “but in three hours, David gets home.”

“Why would-”

“He doesn’t know.” Max sighed.

“He _what_?”

Max guiltily looked at Neil. “ _He doesn’t know_.”

Neil stared. “How… how could you not tell him?”

“Because then he wouldn’t let Max do this.” Gwen said for her son. “Look,” She took a deep breath, “I love David and all, and so does Max, but he’s overprotective sometimes… a lot of times, actually. And rightfully so. But Max is an independent kid and having an overbearing parent like David doesn’t exactly… y’know?”

Neil nodded. 

“I get where he’s coming from.” Max continued. “He, uh… after the Halloween party he hated the idea of me getting out. Didn’t want me to leave the house, even for school… took a while to get him to trust that I’d be okay. And I have been. Just… it’s just this one thing I gotta do.” 

Max shifted, his body facing Neil. His head and gaze was not, however. “Healing is a process. There’s small hurdles, then there’s the big ones. I’ve gotten over most of them… but…” He ran a hand through his curls. “This is the last big one. I think, anyway. Then there’s the small ones like the… uh… touching. And mental stuff. It’s all good though.”

He was brushing those things aside as if they weren’t important. _‘It’s just his way of coping…’_

He wished it wasn’t. Though, it’s better than what it could be.

…

Neil wondered if there was a new bruise hiding under the black choker.

The three sat in silence. The radio wasn’t even playing, just the buzz of the neighborhood and the hum of the car. 

Thousands of trees later, a large, fenced off building came into view. It was a brick red color and honestly already intimidated Neil. He sneaked a glance at Max. The other boy didn’t seem to be doing any better. 

He was scared.

Neil couldn’t blame him though. Who wouldn’t be terrified of seeing your biological parents who severely abused you?

Neil hesitantly put a hand over Max’s. Max flinched for a millisecond, quickly returning the grip. 

The brunet could feel the other trembling. 

Maybe he should’ve tried a bit more to get Max to not do this, no matter how much he wanted to.

* * *

**(5:44 PM)**

This was his first time in a prison and he was fucking _terrified._

Not everyone was one of those tattoo-covered, angry, violent, burly men. A lot of them just looked like normal, everyday guys. 

That didn’t mean that they were normal, everyday guys, though. 

He’d overheard a conversation between two inmates. 

“Used to work as a fisherman.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Had this one really annoying customer. He wanted over two hundred gutted fish in an hour.”

“Did you do it?”

“I told him I had done it when he came back to ask about it and led him in the back. Had ‘em gutted right there in the middle of the room.”

“You actually did all the fish?”

“Not the fish, _him_.”

“Damn.”

It was like it was a normal conversation.

Max had whispered to Neil about the two men’s discussion, joking about how the Russian exchange camper, Vera, had threatened to gut him during those kids’ stay. 

Max didn’t seem phased at all by the conversation taking place behind him.

Neil was, so he opted to go to the women’s wing, Max tagging along.

It wasn’t any better. 

They were just making their way back to the main area when Gwen had approached, saying that they were ready. Fright and regret appeared in Max’s face, so Neil reassured him with words and a kiss to the cheek. 

Gwen went back to the car.

The two walked to the visitation room. They made it to the door. 

_‘His parents are behind this…’_

Those two fuckfaces who traumitized the noiret were on the other side of that door. 

He almost wanted to go in himself.

“Um…” A female guard cleared her throat. “I know this may sound odd, but we can’t have someone waiting outside. You can go in if you’d like, but you can’t be standing outside the door.”

Oh.

The teen’s exchanged glances. 

“Do you want to come…?”

Neil didn’t even think about it. “It seems I don’t have a choice.”

He’s not going to wait out with Gwen. That would make him too far away.

The guard nodded, pressing her hand against the door, opening it. Max had pushed himself away from the door, holding Neil’s arm. The guard walked in, keeping the door open for the boys to enter.

Taking a deep breath, Max moved. On shaky legs, he pushed through the entryway. Neil followed the shorter male into the bleak grey room.

While looking around, he almost ran into Max. 

Who had stopped in the middle of the room.

Just barely being able to catch himself, he saw Max’s face.

There was hatred, fear, determination, and bravery. Neil blinked, forgetting who was on the other side of the room. 

Then he remembered. 

And he looked.

A built man and thin woman sat together on the other side of the glass. They both had those typical orange uniforms. The man looked relatively unharmed, but the woman had a few scratches.

Prison life didn’t seem to be helping them.

Good.

_‘Sai and Alisha…’_

Fuck them.

Max was right when he said he looked like his mother. Hell, he looked like a younger and genderbent version of her. Sharp nose, round face, round lips, round green eyes, thin body… everything about her was round except her body. Same with Max.

And then… there was Sai. 

Max really did look nothing like him. The man had a strong jawline, thin pink eyes, thin lips, a strong body… not Max whatsoever. Neil would argue that maybe the piercing glare came from Sai, but Alisha seemed capable of it too.

Neil quietly retreated into the corner, trying his best to ignore the stares he knew he was receiving. This was a matter between family. 

Though they could barely be called that.

He heard Max take a sharp inhale before proceeding forward. Pulling the chair away from the desk, Max sat, his fingers fidgeting. It was clear that he wanted to keep his distance despite the glass. 

“Maxy…” Alisha spoke. Her black hair was pushed onto her left shoulder, it being a little curly. Her face was bare, but that was expected. The brunet wondered what she looked like before getting what she deserved.

“Don’t call me that.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. Neil could see Max begin to crumble under the gaze. “Listen to your mother.”

Neil expected Max to fire back with the obvious “she’s not my mother”. 

But he didn’t. He just nodded, going along with it.

“How’s the outside life? It must feel incredible to be without your loving parents…”

“It’s… fine.” The teen responded. “I’m with people who actually care about me and I’m getting the help I need.” His head lowered. “No thanks to you.”

“What a hurtful thing to say.” There was no emotion to her voice. None whatsoever. “I’m very hurt by your words, _bachcha_.”

Neil expected Max to fight back. 

“Sorry…” 

He didn’t.

_‘Why isn’t he fighting back?’_

The woman leaned forward, eyes a bit wide. “Do you know what you’ve done to us? Look at us, Maxy… we’re dying here…”

_‘That’s a bit of an exaggeration… or not, I don’t really care.’_

“You did this to us when you ran away. And right when we were making progress as a real family…” 

“I’m sorry.”

The man interjected. “‘Sorry’ isn’t going to cut it.” His voice was commanding and frankly, scary as shit to listen to. Neil didn’t even _want_ to imagine what it was like to get yelled at by him. 

“You disobeyed us so many times that night and even lied to the police so that we could get arrested.”

Alisha smiled beside her husband. 

“We had done nothing wrong.”

Max sank into his seat.

“And yet you felt the need to go lie to everyone around you. You’re such a hateful child.” 

Neil was getting angry. Max never lied to anyone about this. _They_ were the ones who were lying.

“I imagine you’re forcing your problems onto other people, yes? Making people clean up after you just as we did?”

“...it’s not like I want them to…” Max mumbled.

Sai then slammed his fist onto the table, startling everyone in the room and causing Max to tense up. His hands were gripping the bottom of the chair he was in so tightly to the point where his knuckles were almost purely white.

“Don’t you dare mumble when we’re speaking to you.”

The younger noiret took a shaky breath. “It’s not like I want them to.” He repeated. “But everyone’s just so… helpy. They don’t have to walk me through panic attacks, they don’t have to listen to me, they don’t have to care about me… but they do.”

“That’s unfortunate.” Alisha piped up. “Why would they waste such useful energy on a child like you?”

“I don’t know.”

“I imagine the orphanage is nice, then?” Alisha said calmly. Neil could tell there was a grate to her voice, though.

“Uh… no, um, I’m not in an orphanage. I’m in a foster home…”

Alisha grinned. “Ah, the foster system. Tell me, how many homes have you been through?”

“Only one.” 

Neil noticed how Max stood up a little straighter.

“When I was in the hospital that night, I asked for him. And he came. And he offered to foster me… so… I’ve been living with him since…”

“That man must be the dumbest man alive, then.” Alisha sat back, her hands neatly folded on her lap.

“He’s not!” Max suddenly shouted.

“Don’t you dare shout at your mother like that!” Sai practically roared back.

Max was silent in an instant.

The brunet couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. Yeah, he knew his parents were awful, but he didn’t expect _this_. He looked over to the guard, seeing a hard expression on her face. It was clear she didn’t like this conversation either and depending on where it goes, might just stop it.

“Who is this man?” Alisha’s voice was soft but strict.

“It’s David.” Max admitted. “He helped me a lot through my recovery.”

Sai narrowed his eyes. “Your recovery? What recovery?”

“I…” Max bit his tongue. “Sorry… n-no, um… no recovery.”

A sick grin came to Sai’s lips. 

They were enjoying this. They were enjoying seeing Max be scared.

“Where does this David live? Some shitty one room shack?”

“No, it’s just a normal two-story house.”

“Hm.” Alisha hummed. “What about his job? Surely he can’t be a camp counselor all day…” 

Max hesitated in answering and Neil could assume it was because he didn’t want to divulge information like that.

“Maxy...?”

“He’s a teacher.”

Alisha snorted. “A teacher… you don’t get anywhere being a teacher.”

Max lightly shrugged. “He gets by…”

Neil wanted to take Max and just leave. This wasn’t going anywhere but down.

After a few seconds, Alisha asked another question.

“Why did you come here?”

Max blinked, thinking for a moment. “Oh. Um… I wanted answers.”

“Answers?” Alisha stared at the teen. “For what? How to be a good child?”

“No.” Max sounded a bit more confident than before. “I wanted to know why you hate me. Why did you keep me around if all you were going to do was throw me around like a ragdoll?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The woman hummed.

“Ma’am, you and your husband were arrested for severely abusing your son.” The guard spoke, her tone unwavering. 

Both adults on the other side grunted, not happy with the guard’s scolding. 

“Those were false claims.” Sai pressed his fists on the desk.

“They were not and you know that.” The guard broke her stone-cold gaze to glare angrily at the couple. They just scoffed.

They really believed they did nothing wrong… how…?

“Bad children need punishments.” Alisha hummed thoughtfully. “ _Bachcha_ was a troubled child who needed a bit more than that… we were doing the best we could, but he wasn’t making it easy. He shouted at us, argued with us, hit us… oh, and also broke many rules.” She turned her attention to Max. “We sent you to that camp with the intention of showing you how good the city life is, since you were complaining about it beforehand…”

“...I only complained once…” Max interrupted. He got a glare from Sai and flinched, but still stood a little bit tall. 

“You weren’t supposed to make _friends_ with anyone. That was one of our big rules. No friends, no one meddling in our family business.” She grinned. “No one in the public eye was to know you existed. It was for your safety.”

“‘For my safety’...” Max airquoted. “Yeah, because locking me in a giant house while beating me to death is ‘for my safety’.” 

Alisha gasped. “Beating you? Oh, we would never!” 

Even Neil could see the corners of her mouth twitch into a smile. 

“We were simply… giving you corporeal punishment. It works well on children, don’t you think?”

“What you did to me was _not_ ‘corporeal punishment’! You almost fucking killed me! And you left me to raise myself while you both went out and got drunk at parties. Did any of your drinking buddies know that when you left those places you were going back home to beat your son? No, they didn’t.”

The other two were quiet. Then, Alisha moved back while Sai moved forward. His eyes were dark and piercing. Neil could see Max try to back away.

“You’re lucky there's glass separating us. Otherwise, you’d already be on the floor.”

“That’s enough, Sai.” The guard stepped forward. 

The man glared at her with the same look, but she wasn’t phased at all. Soon after, he gave up and the guard moved back to the corner. 

“If there wasn’t glass here, you’d punch me, slap me, or choke me… right?”

Neither adult said anything, but the hateful tint in their eyes confirmed the younger noiret’s question. 

“Figures.” Max crossed his arms, slumping in his seat.

“Sit up straight.” Sai commanded.

Max’s foot twitched, wanting to oblige. But Max refused. 

Sai tried giving the order again, progressively getting angrier and angrier as Max didn’t listen.

“Why can’t you follow a simple order? I am your father. You have to listen to me!”

“You’re not my father.”

_‘There he is.’_

Alisha gasped softly while Sai looked like he was on the verge of exploding. “Excuse me?”

Max seemed terrified, but he pressed on. “You’re not my father.”

“How dare you…!” Fists were clenching. “I raised you… I allowed your mother to get pregnant with you… I let you live for thirteen years… and _this_ is the thanks I get?” He slammed his fist on the table, furious. 

“You didn’t raise me. You were barely in my life at all. You can try to pride yourself on being a good parent, but we all know how shitty you were.” Max snapped. _That_ was the Max Neil knew and loved.

In a flurry of anger, Sai punched the glass, causing it to crack. It didn’t break, but it was enough for the guard to pull her baton out and for Neil to run to Max. He pulled Max back, the other beginning to violently shake.

The guard took a small step forward but remained wary. “If you lay a finger on him, I will assure you, you will have what little freedoms you have here taken away.”

“He’s my son.” Sai sneered. “I can do whatever I want to him.”

“Is that your mindset?” Neil spoke up. Now both of Max’s parents were staring at him. It was scary, yes, but Neil felt braver than usual. “You treat him like he’s something you own. News flash, he’s not. He’s a person.” His eyes narrowed. “He was your son. Is he angry and bitter? Yes. Is he a complete asshole? Yes. Is he cynical and what’s considered a debbie-downer? Yeah, sometimes. But just because he’s those things does _not_ mean he deserved anything you put him through.”

Instead of replying to what he had just said, Alisha cocked an eyebrow. “Who are you?”

Neil blinked. “I’m…” He thought about telling them that he was his boyfriend, but ultimately decided against it. “I’m one of his friends from camp.” He felt Max shake slightly less in his arms. 

“Friend. Something Maxy was specifically told _not_ to make.

“And why not?” Neil challenged. “Why wasn’t he allowed to make friends? What did it have to do with the family business?”

“That’s not something for you to know.”

Max quietly exhaled. “They didn’t want anyone to know about the abuse… or they just wanted me to not have friends… or both. Whatever it was, it was just to hurt me.” He gently pulled away, rubbing at his eyes.

After Max was done clearing away any fear-tears, Alisha looked at his face, a sick smile coming to her face. “Whatever happened to your eye?”

Instinctively, Max hid his blinded eye. “Funny you should ask that.” Max mumbled.

“Why is it funny?”

“Because you’re the one who caused it.”

The woman laughed, leaning back in her seat. “I’m not. But he is.”

So they finally admit to something.

“I wish I remembered it.” Sai lamented. “Seeing his terrified face…”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Neil sputtered, angry. Do they get off on seeing people scared or something? “Do you want to see your own child hurt?”

“If he’s getting what he deserves, yes.”

“What could he have possibly done to deserve all of that?!”

“He was being bad. Any child who was being bad needs to be punished. And we did.”

“But you went _way_ too fucking far with it. A punishment shouldn’t be burning or hitting your kid. It shouldn’t be manipulating them to feel like shit. God, I knew you guys were bad, but not _this_ bad.

Alisha suddenly narrowed her eyes. “So he told you, hm?”

Pushing Max’s seat away from the glass with his foot, he stared at the woman directly. “Yes, he did. So, there’s no point in lying. Just tell him what he wants to know and he’ll be out of your life, since it seems that’s what you want.”

“Why would we want him out of our life?”

Neil didn’t answer, because he knew what it was. He just didn’t want to say it. “Just tell him why you did it.” He pressed on. 

With an annoyed huff, Alisha crossed her legs and placed her hands on her propped up knee. “If you wish to know…” An amused grin came to her lips. “At first it was just an excuse to vent out frustration. Running a business is so difficult, y’know? At one point, almost fifteen years ago, we thought we were ready for a kid. So we had one. Turns out, he was a total brat. Crying all the time, refusing to eat… so… not really wanting to take care of him, we worked on our jobs more. And eventually we stopped having to be at home all the time.

“He managed to take care of himself, though. So we had nothing to worry about. He clearly didn’t want our attention from when he refused to listen to us when he was a toddler. We sent him to that camp in an effort to be able to relax a bit without there being an angry ten year-old storming around the house. He came back, and while not as angry, he was most certainly ruder. 

“So, tired of him acting out, we knew we had to put him in his place. He only made it worse for himself. After a year… it just became routine. Go out to eat, manage our businesses… come home to a child in need of punishment. Soon, it became something we looked forward to.” She leaned close to the cracked glass. “We had a personal punching bag and no one knew anything about it.”

She glanced at Neil. “Until, y’know, he got out. Then everything was ruined.”

“For you.” Neil seethed. It was all basically for fun? What the fuck? He stared at the two for what felt like minutes before hearing quiet sniffling from behind him. He turned, seeing Max desperately trying not to cry. 

Concern flowing through him, the brunet went to his boyfriend’s side, pulling the boy into a side hug. “Do you wanna go?” He whispered. 

Hesitantly, as the first few tears began to fall, Max nodded. The noiret started moving to the door, the guard accompanying him. Her eyes were still on the couple.

After Max had exited the room, Neil stared at the two adults with what was probably the darkest and strictest look he could ever muster. “Fuck you.” He spat. “I hope you both rot and die here.”

A part of him wished they had brought Nikki so he could sic her on them.

He turned, leaving an unamused man and woman behind. 

No one who had entered that room looked back. 

Neil walked into one of the halls to see the guard comforting Max. Neil smiled upon seeing the woman actually making an effort.

* * *

Later, the pair were laying in Max’s bed. No one had told David what happened, instead they’d lied, stating that Max was just ‘in a mood’. He understood and offered to help, but Max was quick to reject it.

A little disappointed but understanding, David backed away and allowed the boys to stay upstairs with the dogs.

Max was laying next to Neil, his hand rhythmically gliding through Cinnamon’s fur. Neil had just finished texting Nikki that he was staying over, adamantly stating over and over that nothing was going to happen.

Sighing and putting his phone down (while avoiding Asha trying to bite it), he turned to Max. “You doing alright?”

“As alright as I can be.” He stopped petting the dog. “I mean,” Cinnamon opened her eyes and raised her head. “I’m glad. They were finally honest with me and… I guess now I know it’s not entirely my fault? I... well, at the end of the day, I guess it _was_ mine. From what they said, I was an ungrateful brat as a baby so…”

Sitting up Neil stared down at Max, not in an aggressive way, though. “No, it’s their fault.”

“Neil-”

“What they described, crying constantly and not appreciating stuff? That’s normal for babies and toddlers. Your parents didn’t know how the fuck to raise and take care of a kid and they didn’t even bother to try or learn. That’s on them. That’s not on you. That will never be on you.” He grasped Max’s hand. “Yeah, the kid might fuck up, but it’s the parent’s responsiblity to teach and deal with the situation. Yours didn’t.”

Max snickered. “Y’know… you sound like you could be a good dad.”

Neil’s face lit up with a nervous grin. “Really?”

“Yep.” He popped the ‘p’. “Though, I don’t know if I can really be the judge of that.” Max let his body collapse onto the nerd’s shoulder. He frowned. “Hey, um… thanks. It was a good thing that you came along…”

Neil hummed as a ‘you’re welcome’. “Your parents are assholes.”

“I know.”

“Do you know how long they’re in for?”

“Nope. Not too concerned, though… even if they do get out, they’re not allowed anywhere near me.” Cinnamon placed her head in Max’s lap. “If they do, Ered’s dads are supposed to, like… bodyguard me or something.” Asha jumped onto the bed, also situating herself onto Max’s lap. “...I’m not trying to think about, honestly. I just want to focus on the dance this Friday and after that, camp. Then my birthday.”

“Sounds like a solid plan.” The brunet reached his hand over to rub Asha’s head.

“Thanks.” Max closed his eyes briefly. “Sumit, stop trying to eat Neil’s phone.”

Neil looked over, seeing the akita attempt to paw the device over. Once caught, the dog fell back onto his paws, padding around. He barked, then panted. 

“C’mere.” The noiret beckoned.

The dog obliged, stepping over Neil's limbs, and Max closed his eyes again.

“Are you going to go to sleep like that?”

The noiret had a soft smile on his face. “Yeah. They love sleeping on the bed... or just me. They won’t bother you… at least, they shouldn’t.”

Deciding to take his chances, Neil laid down completely, being careful so that neither of them would hit their head.

The lamp they had been using was on Neil’s side. Once they were settled in, he switched it off. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

* * *

**May 21st, 2020 (9:37 PM)**

He couldn’t fall asleep. His nerves were skyrocketing. 

The dance was tomorrow. 

He knew he shouldn’t have a reason to be nervous, but his _goddamn anxiety_ liked to torture him. 

With a groan, Neil sat up, tossing a pillow to the floor. He hated these nights. All he wanted was to sleep and wake up the next day pretending like he wanted to go to school. 

Max was asleep, he knew that since the kid hasn’t logged onto Instagram since the two said goodnight to each other. 

So… he was bored.

He didn’t want to play any games, or read, or delve himself into the hell that is known as social media. 

Honestly… he just wanted to…

His door squeaked open. 

Squinting into the darkness of the hallway, he managed to make out the silhouette of Nikki. After a moment, she stepped in, a pillow of hers in her arms. She looked like she hadn’t slept at all, either.

“Hey…” She mumbled into her pillow, lazily stepping over to her brother's bed. “Can’t sleep?”

Neil shook his head. He huffed. “I don’t know why, but I can’t stop thinking about tomorrow.”

Nikki laughed. “Really? Heh, that’s what I’m thinking about, too.”

“Why’re _you_ nervous?”

The girl shrugged. “Maybe ‘cause all of my friends have dates and I don’t.” She curled her knees up to her chest. 

“Ered doesn’t have a date.”

“Someone will ask her out. Like they have been all week.”

A part of the brunet wanted to blurt out right there and then that Ered was totally going to be asking Nikki to dance. But, he refrained. No need to ruin that surprise.

“She won’t accept.” Neil attempted to reassure her. “She has standards, remember?”

“Standards that I don’t fit...”

Sometimes, Nikki used her brain.

Most times, she did not.

“You never know.” Neil offered, not really knowing what else to say.

“I do.” 

The scientist hated seeing Nikki like this. It was a rare sight to see someone as bubbly as Nikki be so down, that it felt unnatural and not right at all when she did express the more gloomy side of herself. 

Maybe that was selfish thinking. 

Neil decided not to dwell on it.

After a light sniffle, Nikki directed herself at Neil. “So… what about you? Why are you nervous?”

Neil shrugged. “Anxiety? I can’t think of anything that would make me this nervous…”

“Maybe it’s because it’s a public dance…?”

“...maybe.” 

They sat.

And they sat some more.

“...Mom and Dad are asleep. Wanna sneak downstairs and binge some dumb Disney movie?”

A small grin flickered on Neil’s face. “Depends. Which one?”

“ _Teen Beach Movie_.”

“That one’s awful.” Neil ran a hand through his hair, smile growing. Nikki watched as her brother glided off the bed. “Let’s go watch it…”

Letting out a small chuckle, Nikki stood as well, pillow now propped over her shoulder. 

Together, they walked downstairs. Neil slumped onto the sofa, pulling the couch pillow he sat on out from under him while Nikki searched the shelf- because _yes_ , they still had and used discs.

“Third row, number s-”

“Seven.” Nikki pulled the movie out from its tight spot, a cheeky grin painting her face. Popping the blu-ray into the Playstation, she skipped over to the couch, sitting herself onto the cushion beside the nerd.

The TV screen glowed and the screen was overtaken by the sun and a beach. 

“Alright, rule,” she already seemed in a better mood, “we are not allowed to fall asleep until _at least_ ´Can´t Stop Singing’.” 

“Okay.” 

Jokes on her, that was his favorite song from the film.

* * *

**May 22nd, 2020 (6:22 PM)**

“I’m going to cry.” 

“Please don’t.”

“ _I’m going to cry_.”

“I spent all of my arm strength on your crappy makeup. I’m begging you, don’t.”

“Too late.” The first happy tear escaped from Nikki’s eyes. She moved her body- more specifically, her hips- observing the skirt part of the dress. Against the bedroom light, a few of the sequins reflected onto the floor.

According to his sister, the top was comfortable despite it’s tight appearance. The inside wasn’t necessarily what one would call ‘padded’, but it did have what could be described as a kinda-thin-kinda-not-thin silky blanket. 

She danced around a bit, her bare feet lifting into the air behind her every now and then. “Ah! I love it!” 

Neil half-listened to her, trying for the third time to tie his tie. He knew how to do this; he’s done it before! 

_‘Okay, tie here… uh… do this…’_

It felt like ages, but he finally got it!

He hoped, at least. Didn’t look too bad.

His suit was just a plain black one… or a _super_ dark yellow one, depending on how you look at it. He huffed, getting used to the feel. He wasn’t ever one to really wear suits. More of a vest kind of guy.

Twisting on his heel, he saw Nikki sitting on the ground in an attempt to clasp the straps on her silver heels together. “Need help?”

“Did you need help with your tie?” She replied without missing a beat. “No? Okay, then.” With one last tug, the small rod went through the hole and the girl cheered for herself. That quickly faded, however, as she worked on the other one.

Candy popped her head into the room. “Almost ready, I see.” She pulled one of her sleeves down, making them even. “So… I’m taking you there, and…” 

“David.”

“Right, David, is taking you to Max’s, right?”

Both teens nodded in confirmation, just as Nikki succeeded with her heels. She jumped to her feet, both ankles rolling as she did. The adventurer quickly regained herself, though, a bright smile being offered.

Candy softly smiled at her daughter. “Oh, look at you…” She gently pushed past Neil and placed a hand on Nikki’s shoulder. “God, it was like it was yesterday when we first moved in here…” She moved to hug Nikki, who gratefully took it. 

“I love you.” The younger Maxwell kept her genuine smile as her mother left the embrace, instead holding her cheek.

“I love you, too.” Candy’s thumb briefly played with the sides of Nikki’s hair, just in front of the ear. Giving the girl a light pat on the head, she turned to the door and took her keys. “I’ll get the car started.”

Neil gave his stepmother credit. She’d come a long way. 

The siblings looked at each other. Nikki was beyond excited. The dress really did drive most of her nerves away. 

For a while, at least.

* * *

**(7:04 PM)**

He didn’t go to Homecoming, so he had no idea what a dance at the high school was supposed to look like.

He could see lights in the gym from outside (pink, white, green, and yellow were the most prominent). While staring at the line waiting to get in, he almost missed the light poke from behind him. 

Twisting his body, he saw Harrison and Nerris. 

Harrison had a more formal version of his old camp attire; the suit being yellow and black with, not an actual tophat, but a mini one. Nerris had styled her hair, making her look like an actual carbon copy of her mother save for the lack of glasses and body. Her dress went past her knees and was navy, the bottom half being a bunch of ruffles. 

“Ooh!” Nikki bounced behind Neil, her ankles rolling again. “You look _hot_!” She deviously smirked. “Watch out Harry… I might just steal your girl!”

As a response, Harrison lifted his index and a small flame emitted, burning up and into the air. “We’ll duel for her.”

“Oh ho ho! Bet! You’ll be going _down_!”

They engaged in some more talk, stopping briefly when Preston arrived, being able to sneak his way into the spot of the line that they were in. He had his Homecoming suit on, the only difference being that he had an orange tie and was wearing two corsages, one with orange flowers and the other with white and red. 

Preston saw him staring. “Justin and Emmanuel.” He returned to the conversation with the girls.

Neil had no clue what he meant, so he just shrugged it off and waited until they reached the outside entrance.

* * *

**(7:21 PM)**

About twenty minutes in and Max hadn’t shown up yet.

Neil and Nikki were sitting on the bleachers, both waiting for the noiret to get there.

Nikki tapped her index on the side of her phone. “Nothing.”

Neil stayed quiet, his fingers tapping anxiously on his lips. He had no reason to worry, yet here he was.

_‘What if his parents got out?’_

No matter how many barricades Neil put up, that one sentence kept infiltrating his thoughts. Maybe it’s just nerves. He and Nikki had experienced those the night prior, who’s to say Max’s isn’t experiencing that right now? It was reasonable.

...so why had he not read the messages yet? Why hadn’t he responded yet? Why-?

He barely heard the ping of Nikki’s phone over the cheesy dance music. He saw her features light up and for a moment, Neil thought Ered or even Ramona texted her.

“He’s outside.”

The scientist let out a loud and relieved sigh, leaning back on the bleachers and letting his torso hang between the rows. 

Max was alright. 

Another three minutes later and Max walked in. Nikki hadn’t noticed yet, but Neil saw him the moment his head poked out the door. After what looked to be a quick scan, he began walking over to them.

Nikki had only looked up when she heard the clicking of dress shoes. “Hi!” The girl leaped off the bleacher. “You look great!”

Max smiled back at her. “You too.” He looked at the dress. “Damn, I did a good job…”

He had mumbled it, but of course Nikki heard it. “Dang right you did!

Max and Nikki stood next to the bleachers where Neil was sitting, the three conversing. Max, of course, had insulted the decorations and the music. Then Nikki proposed the idea of messing with it. Neil had opened his mouth to protest it, but Max held a hand up as a “shut up”. 

So he did. 

The siblings watched as Max pondered the idea. After what felt like hours, he clapped his hands together, stars in his eyes and a devilish grin on his face, and uttered a single word. “Yes.”

Nikki returned that smile, determination quickly spreading. She flipped to Neil and tugged at his hand. “You’re coming too!”

“Wh- I- no-” It wasn’t that he didn’t want to do something like that, he just didn’t want to run the risk of getting caught and kicked out or worse. And him protesting was a reflex.

“No?” Nikki stared at him, eyes wide and a grin still present. “What’s that word mean? Never heard it before.” She giggled as she dragged him to the corner of the gym, Max willingly following.

Now shrouded in darkness as much as they could be in the room and next to the boys locker room, Nikki turned to Max. “What’s the plan?”

“The computer playing all the music is in one of the offices in the locker rooms. We get in there, we can change the music. And depending if you think we can pull this off… we could maybe lock the laptop so the adults can’t change it.”

“Oh! Neil, can you hack the computer?” Nikki said.

“Maybe?” Could he lock the computer? Sure, he could do simple hacking, but locking something? He’d never done something like that...

“Good enough for me.” Max hummed, peering behind his boyfriend. With another glance around the room, Max pulled on his friends’ wrists and into the locker room beside them. 

The first thing that was noticeable was how dark it was, then the smell. Neil hated the boys in their school.

“Ugh, it smells worse than the showers at the Wood Scouts' camp.”

...Neil hated _most_ of the boys in their school.

A light was turned on by Max. More specifically, his phone light. 

“What the heck do you guys do in here?” Nikki whisper-exclaimed, her peach perfume seriously clashing with the scent of sweat and body odor. 

“I take it that the girls' room isn’t this bad?”

“No!” 

Neil held his arms. “Can we just leave already?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Max nodded, turning and leaving the other two in darkness. “Office is over here… though I’m not sure if it’s the right one.”

Nikki and Neil followed. 

The brunet had begun to distract himself from the total darkness by listening to the taps of their shoes. _Click click click_ , that was fine. Some of his anxiety took a vacation.

After swerving through another hall or two, they arrived at another door. Without much hesitation, he turned the handle and flicked the light switch on. 

Before them was a closed laptop that was plugged in.

“Aw. Wrong office.” Nikki pouted.

“It’s still on.” Max pointed out, switching his flashlight off. 

Nikki stood against a file cabinet. “You think it could still be playing music while closed?” 

“I saw Gwen do it once. And besides,” Moving past Nikki, Max started to open the cabinet and ruffle through its contents. “If it isn’t, we can always search this place for some secrets.”

Neil took a step forward. “We can find out.” He opened the laptop lid and was met with a login screen. “Well, shit.”

“No worry.” Max stated, followed by a small sound of triumph. He slapped a notebook down, post-it notes sticking out of it. “Passwords.”

Studying the sheet, Neil typed the first one in. It seemed to work and the three were let into the computer. It opened to a Spotify screen. 

“Alright, we gotta be careful.” The noiret returned the notebook. “Don’t want anyone coming in, right?”

Neil paused for a second, his fingers hovering over the keys. “Hey, uh, when we switch playlists, how am I gonna be able to lock it? It’ll take a little bit of time and I don’t think…”

Max opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly shut it. “Y’know, I didn’t think about that.”

“Ooh, I can find an escape route!” Nikki bounced, one ankle rolling. 

“You’re going to break your ankle.” Neil muttered. 

“You underestimate how strong my bones are.”

Neil could hear the girl fumble around with stuff behind him as Max was standing over his shoulder.

“We should get songs that don’t have swear words.”

Neil looked at him. “Really? Knowing you-”

“You’re right, I do love me some bad words. But this _is_ school. If we wanna up our chances of the teachers leaving this alone, we should pick ones that would be ‘appropriate’.”

He had a point. “Alright. There’s plenty of love songs that don’t…” He trailed off, typing in the first song he could think of. 

“They don’t all have to be love songs.”

The nerd shrugged as a response.

“Do _Dj Got Us Fallin’ In Love_.”

“Didn’t you just say not to do all love songs?”

“I didn’t say _that_. Plus this is like a… club song or something. It fits perfectly with all those let’s-do-underage-stuff-like-party-with-alcohol-and-do-the-dirty teens out there.”

“...oookaayy…” 

“Don’t say it isn’t true.”

“I wasn’t going to.” The click of the keys filled the room.

A few beats of silence, save for the clicking, passed. “Hey Nik, found anything?”

“Uh...” She crawled out from under the desk. “There’s this huge vent right here.”

Max looked under the desk. “‘Huge’.” He simply said, an unimpressed look on his face. “How the fuck do you expect me to fit my ass in there?”

Nikki stood up. “If I can do it, you can definitely do it. And I can.”

Absently adding songs, Neil’s blue orbs flickered at his sister. “Where does it lead to?”

“The cafeteria.”

“...that’s across the school.”

Nikki shrugged. “It’s a long vent. Took me like five minutes to get there and back.”

“That’s because you’re Nikki.” Max mumbled under his breath. 

“You’ll be fine.” Nikki dismissed. She peered over Neil’s shoulder. “Oh, you should _Party Rock Anthem_. And _Domino_! That’s my favorite song!”

A couple more clicks, and the two were added along with _Dynamite_ and _Problem_.”

“I like your music taste.” The noiret mused.

“I’m just thinking of all the popular party music.”

“Add _Into You_!” Nikki cheered.

And he did. 

Max and Nikki began rambling off suggestions, leading the playlist to be a whopping 102 song playlist. 

“So… about hacking this thing…”

Max’s eyes flicked at the file cabinet. “Yo, help me move this.” It was directed at Nikki. His hand waved aimlessly at Neil. “You do your thing, hon.” 

Neil almost missed the pet name. Affection blossomed in him as a result.

Neil turned his back, fiddling with a few keys. He opened a program, hoping that the music wouldn’t cut out yet. Behind him, he could hear the other two struggling to get the cabinet against the door. 

“I got it from here… can you get that broom?” 

More shuffling and few clacks were heard. 

Curiosity winning him over, the brunet swiveled his head. The cabinet was against the door and a broom was carefully placed against the handle. 

“Is there a chair and string in here?”

Nikki set off to find them and Neil focused back on the program.

Soon, he was faced with a window that he knew would abruptly stop the music. So, he paused his work and looked over to the other two teens in the room.

A string was tied to a chair and said chair was propped against the cabinet, its backside resting under one of the handles. The string was completely straight and wrapped around the doorknob. Neil noticed how the door was locked, too.

“This should keep ‘em out for a bit.” Max admired his lock trap. “Not for too long, though. With enough brute force, they can knock the whole thing down.”

“How do you know that? Did you make this before?” It was an innocent question, but the pained look in Max’s eyes was enough to make the girl understand.

Pushing the topic aside, Max turned to his other. “Almost done?”

“Uh, yeah. All I gotta do is turn the program on, shuffle and loop the playlist, then close the computer. Simple.”

The noiret nodded. “You should go ahead and get into the vent.” He said to Nikki.

Without a word, the girl happily obliged and practically slid into the vent. 

“Get far enough in so me and Neil can join ya.” He turned to Neil. “Ready?”

With a shaky breath, the brunet’s fingers glided over the touchpad and letters. One click, the booming music stopped. Another click, a different song started playing. A third click, and the laptop was off. One last click, and the lights to the room went out. 

Neil could barely see, but he managed to make out Max’s figure urging him into the ventilation shaft. Just as Neil had crouched down to enter, Max’s flashlight illuminated the metallic tube. 

Now being able to see clearly, Neil crawled into it, trying to get in a position where he’d be comfortable… for the most part, anyway. Damn his shoulders and long legs.

Then came the attempted opening of the door. 

It started off as a simple twist of the doorknob, then it morphed into a little bit more of an aggressive pull. Then the knocking, then the banging. 

Neil tried to speed up, hearing Max get into the vent behind him. He heard a few other sounds, like a vent cover being replaced. Then a third rendition of the echoed sounds of traversing through a vent.

“I’m going backwards, so if you feel something, it’s my feet.”

Neil took a note of that. He could see the light vanish in the vent’s clouded reflection. 

Amongst the vent sounds, Neil could hear the upbeat music of _Dear Future Husband_ playing, along with various students singing along to it. He swore he could hear feet moving too.

There was also the struggle of trying to get into the office, but Neil chose to ignore that one.

“Hey, I can see the light of the hallway!” Nikki whisper-shouted. “Almost there you guys!”

_‘Good.’_

Moments later, the trio emerged from the darkness, dusty and dirty. 

“Great, my suit looks like ass.” Max dusted himself off. 

“We can try to wash it out.” Nikki suggested.

“I’m not against that.” 

“To the kitchen sink!” Nikki pointed in the direction and walked off, the boys following.

“You know, we should probably try to be a little quiet.” Neil said. “Since, well, I don’t think we’re supposed to be here.”

Tables were folded and lights were switched off. The doors were shut as well. There was no way they were supposed to be here.

“Ehh… we’ll take our chances.” Max tugged on his boyfriend’s arm. “You can barely see the dirt on yours. Lucky.”

Entering the kitchen, Nikki had started the water up, hand under and waiting. “So, um… just gonna do this with the suit on, or…?”

“Just get paper towels and make them wet.”

“Alrighty.”

That left the two boys alone for a moment.

Suddenly, a question crossed Neil’s mind. “Uh… hey, why were you, um, late?”

“I wasn’t?”

“W-Well, I mean… why did you show up a little later?”

Max still looked confused but answered nonetheless. “David was a complete fucking dumbass and forgot some school stuff. He’s here chaperoning, by the way. Probably knows it was us who set up the music thing.”

“You think they got in yet?”

“Mm…” Max listened. Neil listened, too, hearing the faintest sound of _Domino_. “Nope. Don’t think so.” He looked at his phone and snorted. “Look, David’s texting me.”

**Fri, May 22, 7:58 PM**

**Tree Fucker: Where are you?**

**Tree Fucker: Are you three up to something?**

**Tree Fucker: The music changed. Was that you?**

“Should I tell him the truth?”

“Beat around it.” Neil suggested. 

**if it was, would you turn us in?**

David’s reply was instantaneous. 

**Tree Fucker: No, I won’t. I just want to know if you’re safe.**

**we are**

**in the cafeteria**

**cleaning up our suits**

**Tree Fucker: Why would you need to clean up your suits?**

**got dusty**

And Max shut his device off. “So… wanna play a game later?”

“Like what?”

Max shrugged. “I dunno. Something.”

* * *

**(8:25 PM)**

They had managed to successfully sneak back into the gym, prideful as they realized their playlist was still going, with _Party Rock Anthem_ playing through the speakers. Nikki had dragged herself over to some of her other friends, throwing her heels off and hopping around. 

After observing the girl happily dancing with her own little group for the remainder of the song, the shorter teen poked at the taller’s arm. It had caught Neil’s attention as the song changed to _Shut Up and Dance_. As they both realized the song change, they looked at each other. Max smiled, an unspoken invitation and acceptance passing through them both. Taking Neil’s hands, Max led him out into the dance floor, among all the other friends and couples.

Neil experienced first-hand that Max was still a good dancer- better, even. 

But maybe Neil could prove he had gotten better, too. 

As the chorus played, spins occured. Their chests touched time and time again. Smiles were exchanged. Small laughs were heard. And they weren’t the only ones. People around them were clearly having a better time than before. 

Some pranks could be good.

_“Oh oh oh, shut up and dance with me...”_

Neil put his hands on Max’s waist.

_“Oh oh oh, shut up and dance with me!”_

And he lifted. 

As the last bits of the music played, the two stared at each other. Max was still in the air, his hands firmly on Neil’s shoulders. 

With the various lights above him, Neil couldn’t help but think that this boy, right in front of him, was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. Cheesy, he knew. Didn’t make it untrue. 

Slowly, Neil lifted Max down. They were still staring at each other.

It wasn’t until the sudden beginning of _S.O.S._ started that they finally remembered where they were.

“Wow.” Max breathed. “And here I was thinking I’d dip you.”

Neil rubbed his head. “Um, yeah…”

Unbeknownst to them, Nikki was lurking behind them, ready to pounce at the two complete lovebirds. Seeing the two off-guard, she made her move and swung her arms over the two. “That was so cute, you guys!”

“Shut up.” The noiret demanded in a light tone after recovering from the scare.

“There’s no shame in dancing with your wonderful, loving dearest-”

Both boys narrowed their eyes at her. “ _Nikki_.”

“-boyfriend.” She finished, clearing wanting to have added more to her list of endearing words. She grinned despite that and used her hands to connect the boys’. “I’m off to raid the snack table with Dianna. Have fun! Not too much, though! We are surrounded by innocent kids!” And with that she was off.

“One day.” Max mumbled, beginning to trudge in the opposite direction. “I’m just gonna snap.”

Neil cocked a brow. “Snap?”

“Her neck.” 

He laughed.

* * *

**(8:54 PM)**

“She seems more fidgety that usual.” 

“What do you mean?”

Max pointed his cup at the girl. “Look at her.”

He looked and saw Ered fiddling around with a cup of her own, clearly uninterested in the conversations taking place around her. He wondered if any of her friends noticed her behavior. 

The younger took a sip. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Maybe she’s working up the courage to ask Nikki out.”

“Her working up courage? The fuck happeend to Ered?”

Neil shrugged. “Usually, she has no problem asking people she likes out.” Although, now that he thought about it, that only happened twice within her dating career. Nevertheless, she was never nervous about it. Or she at least never showed it. It was extremely rare to get Ered to be entirely vulnerable and Neil was never sure if that was a good or bad thing.

With a long drink this time, Max shoved his plastic cup into Neil’s hands. “I’m gonna go talk to her.”

Neil was about to let him go, but he couldn’t help but feel like he shouldn’t. As the spring lights traveled around the room, the muddled thought became clearer. He loved Max, he did, but he knew the kid wasn’t the best with handling emotions and with something as complicated as this, he might do more harm than good. 

The scientist figured that, even though he also wasn’t good at handling feelings, he might have a better shot at getting the two dumbasses together.

“I- uh, hey, wait,” Neil pulled on his lover’s arm. “Let me do it? She’s my sister and… well… you don’t know Ered as well as I do… and we may need to be more… logical about this.”

Max blinked at him, then looked away. A small smile came to his lips. “Actually, I think we’re both gonna do it.”

“Huh?” Neil glanced up seeing the blonde traversing over to the teens. With a finger, she was twirling her hair. 

As she approached, Max had spoken before she even opened her mouth. “Nikki?”

A pink came to the skater’s cheeks. “Wh-? Um… no, nah, no way. I… uh…”

“I don’t know if I should be concerned or not.” Max huffed, crossing his arms. 

“Huh?”

Max gave her an ‘are you serious’ look. “You’re acting really fucking weird. And judging how you get all flustered at Nikki- hell, even the mention of her name- it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. You like Nikki. And I could clearly see past your bullshit. C’mon, be honest.”

Without much thinking, Ered sighed and gave in. “Okay, fine. Look, I just… I need your help, alright? I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. I have _never_ experienced this before and it’s totally uncool.”

Neil’s hand moved freely, as if hand movement would be more convincing. “It’s a normal human emotion.”

“It’s abnormal for me!”

Max let out a laugh. “Felt.”

That made Miller smile, but only by a little bit. “She makes me feel weird. I know… I know I like her like _that_ but I just… it’s different!” She cried. “She makes me want to do things I’ve never wanted to do! I want to be more… well...girly? But less at the same time? Ugh, I don’t know!” She spluttered.

“This sounds extremely similar to me.” Max hummed. “Alright, listen to me. Things are confusing, no doubt about that. It’s good to feel things like this, even if they seem bad. The best way to get rid of those feelings is to probably just go ahead and get it over with. Just tell her. If she doesn’t like you back, sulk for as long as you need to. If she does, great! Start slow and easy or start fast and hard. Doesn’t matter to me.”

Neil wasn’t sure if Max was aware of the innuendo he made.

Ered seemed to pick up on it too. “I… um…”

“Anyway,” He turned the girl’s body around. “Go get yourself a girlfriend, then we’ll talk further.”

“Wait!” Ered squeaked, stopping the boy. “I can’t just go up to her!”

Without a word, Max pulled his phone out and typed something. Moments later, Nikki’s device had glowed and a happy but fearful face appeared on her. She looked over, but because Ered wasn’t facing her, they didn’t make eye contact. The noiret typed something else, leading to the adventurer to start saying something to her friends. 

“What’d you do?” Neil asked. 

Ered’s eyes widened a little. “What do you mean?”

“I just texted her.” Max pocketed his phone. “Meet her over in that corner.” He pointed and all three followed. Nikki had already started to walk towards it, heels in hand. “You’ll figure it out.” He pat her shoulder. “Nice dress by the way. Suits you.” He gestured to her velvet colored a-line dress. “Necklace too.”

With a shaky breath, Ered let a smile play on her lips. “Thanks…”

“Trust me, there is literally no way you can fuck this up.”

“Don’t jinx her.” Neil half-scolded.

“I’m not.” Max waved off. He was confident that Ered and Nikki would be fine, and frankly, Neil couldn’t blame him since he felt the same. 

With another light shove, Max ushered the girl over to her crush. 

The pair watched in silence as she slowly made her way over. Halfway there, a boy stopped her in her tracks. He pulled on her hand, and the skater firmly swatted it away. Despite being a couple feet away, they could make out the gist of it, as they both say her mouth the words “I’m gay” with the most annoyed face the girl could muster.

“Who was that?” Max questioned.

“I think it’s that guy Ered kept mentioning that wanted to date her.”

“Considering the amount of girls she’s dated, you’d assume she’s not into guys.”

“Oh no, he knows she’s gay.”

“Is he homophobic or some shit?”

“Not necessarily. Just towards her. Convinced he can make her bi.”

“So he’s a converter. Fuckin’ gross.”

They decided not to watch the girls’ interaction.

* * *

**(9:43 PM)**

Max and Neil left the party early after being informed that Nikki would be going to Ered’s after the dance instead. They’d gotten rather bored rather quickly and neither of them were really into the idea of going to a restaurant at two hours close to midnight.

That wasn’t to say that the night was horrible though, no, far from it. They danced, pulled a big scheme that was probably going to bite them in the ass later, fucked with the teacher, and finally, yes, _finally_ got the two girls together. 

Yeah, that was right. The boys had glanced over every now and then, seeing Nikki and Ered awkwardly talk and the relief and love that came after it. God, everyone who didn’t know was going to lose their goddamn mind when they found out. It was years in the making.

_‘Hooray.’_ A small smile came to Neil’s face as he scrolled by a photo Ered had just posted of the two by the snack bar. The caption was only a heart.

He heard Max audibly sigh. “What’s wrong?”

Max didn’t even attempt to lie. “Just thinking.”

“About?” Neil pressed.

“Parents.” There was a small shake to his voice.

Neil held his boyfriend a little closer that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to attempt to get Ch. 17 done by the 23rd, but there's really no guarantees  
> On a side note... I was just calmly enjoying my time in the CC fandom...  
> ...  
> ...then Ducktales punched me in the gut and stole my ability to properly emote


End file.
